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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23950192">The Last Seiðr</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/SummerChildWinterFury/pseuds/SummerChildWinterFury'>SummerChildWinterFury</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Based on Book-Series rather than the Film-Series for HP, Gen</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-03 01:33:42</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>40,877</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23950192</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/SummerChildWinterFury/pseuds/SummerChildWinterFury</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“Doctor! It’s spiking again.”</p>
<p>To which, the Cube sparked one more --a much larger spike to the previous.</p>
<p>“What’s that?”</p>
<p>Before Fury could so much as tense, eye on the Cube, it sparked again --for the ground and walls to visibly shake.<br/>It continued to spark some more, bigger each time - to which a beam of energy was suddenly brought forth and -an explosion...</p>
<p>Once visual on the platform returned, it was only for Fury to tense further.<br/>Confusion and concern ran through him as he took in the several unknowns now of the platform, each more confusing than the last. In the centre was a dark haired kid - ten or eleven if Fury had to guess - complete with a bloodied sword in his hand. Yet, they were not the oddest thing. That was reserved to the brightest tropical bird he had ever seen, complete with a wide colourful wing span and a long back tail rivalling that of a peacock’s, which flew in suspension above the boy.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Fawkes &amp; Harry Potter, Harry Potter &amp; Avengers Team, Other Relationship Tags to Be Added</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>392</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>2282</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Clever Crossovers &amp; Fantastic Fusions, Marvel Verse FF</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>HAPPY BELTANE! i.e. First of May!</p>
<p>While trying to get past a (hopefully small) writers block on my other stories decided to push through one of my many other HP fic/HP crossover fic ideas.</p>
<p>-</p>
<p>Disclaimer: The World of Harry Potter does not belong to me. Nor does the Word of the MCU. While my story is fanfiction, and my creation, the Canon characters, locations, ideas... belong to JK Rowling and Stan Lee/Marvel Studios. This is a work of fiction produced for the single purpose of entertaining fans of Harry Potter and the MCU films, and no Copyright infringement is intended.</p>
<p>Some parts of the text in this first chapter is taken from HP&amp;tCoC and ‘The Avengers’ (2012) film</p>
<p>Words of encouragement and comments are welcome but please no silly bashing-troll comments just for the sake of it. - Thank you</p>
    </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>11/11/2020 Minor edits to the text. Thank you so much to <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/rosaamarilla/pseuds/rosaamarilla">rosaamarilla</a> (Ao3) for an amazing read through</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <strong>CHAPTER 1</strong>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <strong>-</strong>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>

<p></p><blockquote>
  <p>‘<em>Dizzy and bruised, covered in soot, he got gingerly to his feet, holding his broken glasses up to his eyes. He was quite alone, but where he was, he had no idea. All he could tell was that he was standing in the stone fireplace of what looked like a large, dimly lit wizard’s shop — but nothing in here was ever likely to be on a Hogwarts school list.</em>’ - Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets </p>
</blockquote><p> </p>
<p>
  <strong>-</strong>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>May 1st, 2012, Evening</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <strong>Joint Dark Energy Mission Facility, Western Division</strong>
</p>
<p>Project Pegasus</p>
<p>NASA Space Radiation</p>
<p>S.H.I.E.L.D. Accelerator Test Facility</p>
<p>Mojave Desert, Nevada</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“<em>Talk to me, Doctor.</em>”</p>
<p>Doctor Selvig looked up from behind the Tesseract at Fury’s call.</p>
<p>“Director,” he answered the call, stepping off the platform and moving towards him.</p>
<p>“Is there anything we know for certain?” Fury asked, his eye sliding between Selvig and the Cube; the Cube which was definitely glowing brighter than the last time he had visited.</p>
<p>“The Tesseract is misbehaving.”</p>
<p>Fury eyed Selvig as they finally met halfway, “Is that supposed to be <em>funny</em>?”</p>
<p>“No, it’s not funny at all. The Tesseract is not only active, she’s...” the doctor clearly searched for a better word, only to come up with, “—<em>behaving</em>.”</p>
<p>Fury’s jaw twitched. “How soon can you pull the plug?”</p>
<p>“She’s an energy source: we turn off the power, she turns it back on. If she reaches peak level...”</p>
<p>“We prepared for this, Doctor; harnessing energy from space.”</p>
<p>“We don’t have the harness. My calculations are far from complete...-”</p>
<p>Fury’s eye returned to the Tesseract as Selvig continued his report, “...-<em>Nothing harmful, low levels of Gamma radiation</em>.”</p>
<p>His head snapped back to stare at the doctor, “<em>That</em> can be harmful.” Jaw tight, Fury gave a quick sweep of the rest of the compound, “Where’s agen—”</p>
<p>Before he could finish though, the Tesseract hummed, glowing even brighter. “<em>Doctor</em>! It’s spiking again,” cried out one of Selvig’s minions.</p>
<p>Both Selvig and Fury moved towards the call, eyes falling on the nearby screen. It displayed a graph tracking real-time energy emissions; not only was there an increased frequency of spikes, but also an increased intensity.</p>
<p>— The Cube sparked once more, a much larger spike then those previous.</p>
<p>“<em>What’s that?</em>” </p>
<p>Fury’s singular eye had already locked onto the Cube, and before he could so much as tense, it sparked again — the ground and walls visibly shook.</p>
<p>It continued to spark more and more, each spark bigger than the last until it seemed as though it would spontaneously combust...</p>
<p>—<em>And it did</em>: An explosion of blue-white light-energy rippled out, tendrils grasping at the very top of the chamber... </p>
<p>...</p>
<p>Most dissipated...</p>
<p>...</p>
<p>... Though a small residue continued to linger.</p>
<p>And yet, this residue was not the only thing that remained; as the light dimmed, and visual returned, silhouettes took form.</p>
<p>Confusion and concern ran through Fury as he took in the several unknowns now on the platform, each odder than the last. In the centre was a dark-haired <em>kid </em>- ten or eleven, if Fury had to guess - a bloodied sword in hand. Yet, he was not the oddest thing. That was reserved for the brightest tropical bird he had ever seen, equipped with a wide colourful wing-span and a long tail rivalling that of a peacock’s, which hovered above the boy.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <strong>-</strong>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Harry bit back a groan; his whole body <em>ached</em>.</p>
<p>One moment he was in Slytherin’s Secret Chamber, trying to make sense of having met and defeated <em>Voldemort</em> for the third time. Of having somehow survived a basilisk’s bite thanks to Fawkes. The tears had done much more than simply saving Harry from the venom; somehow, they also managed to remove the bite-mark from his ankle and correct his eyesight (which was rather a good thing given that one of his lenses was completely broken, the frame not faring much better).</p>
<p>All this occurred while he simultaneously attempted to reassure Ginny that Riddle was gone, passing her the fang-pierced diary. </p>
<p>In the next moment, a great big ball of light and energy had formed in front of their very eyes. —Harry had pushed Ginny out of the way, not wanting her to get injured. Then, he was jerked irresistibly forward. He sped into the howl of wind and swirling colour, and then —</p>
<p>His feet slammed into the ground; only the sword still in hand kept him steady, stopping him from falling over...</p>
<p>Shaking all over, Harry pulled himself up. His head was spinning as though he’d just travelled several hundred miles by Floo powder.</p>
<p>Slowly, he looked around him... only to stop dead in his tracks.</p>
<p>While most likely still underground, he wasn’t in the Chamber anymore... or anywhere in Hogwarts. And while Fawkes was still with him, flying overhead, neither Ginny or the diary —or even the bloody <em>basilisk</em>, were anywhere in sight.</p>
<p>He gawked at the space, filled with various <em>muggle</em> machines and people facing him. People approaching him. Not to mention the <em>muggle</em> clothes — and the <em>guns</em> they were holding...</p>
<p>How had he gone from Hogwarts to —<em>to</em> <em>here</em>?</p>
<p>Wherever <em>here</em> was...</p>
<p>— “Sir, please put down the sword.”</p>
<p>He blinked owlishly at the tone of voice; a tone similar to the no-nonsense voice of Professor McGonagall, though male.</p>
<p>The source couldn’t have been more different from his Head of House: a tall bald man wearing nothing but black, complete with a black eye-patch. That and his accent was <em>American</em>; just like in the action films where everything blew up that Dudley liked to watch, confusing Harry all the more.</p>
<p>Still, very much not wanting to get shot by a bunch of muggles, Harry quickly but carefully placed the sword on the ground, all while eyeing the men with guns slowly approaching. As soon as his hand let go of the sword, they moved a lot quicker, closing in on the platform he was on.</p>
<p>One hesitated, before he lowered his weapon and offered Harry a hand, “If you would please come down from the platform, sir.”</p>
<p>Feeling like he had little choice in the matter, Harry let himself be helped off.</p>
<p>Before the man could guide him any further away though, a <em>yelp!</em> came from behind. Both turned to the sound and watched as the bloodied sword disappeared in front of their very eyes. The man currently bent down to pick it up was left grabbing air instead. </p>
<p>Somewhere above their heads, Fawkes gave a soft trill; Harry was certain he was laughing.</p>
<p>At least neither man commented on the Sorting Hat tucked in his belt. Nor had Harry planned to mention the wand in his pocket or the invisibility cloak he had tucked in his robes when Ron and he had gone to Lockhart.</p>
<p>The muggle men regrouped and Harry was once again ushered forward, towards the man in the long black coat.</p>
<p>Much like when everyone in the duelling club was convinced he was the Heir and had set the snake on Justin Finch-Fletchley, Harry felt everyone in the room silently staring at him. The only difference: they were muggles... and he was covered in muck and slime and blood...</p>
<p>...Which probably made them stare at him all the more, all things considered.</p>
<p>Or really, Fawkes and him. The long-coat man couldn’t seem to decide if he should focus his one eye on Harry or on the phoenix flying overhead. The phoenix who now perched on one of the high-up banners located at the other end of the room.</p>
<p>As for Harry himself, his gaze took in as much of the room as possible during the walk... his eyes continually drawn towards the bright electric-blue box. Harry was near-certain that if Fawkes and he hadn’t just... appeared here, the attention would be fully focused on the machine. Especially considering how <em>violently</em> it seemed to be... <em>flickering</em>?</p>
<p>As they drew closer to the muggles and the glowing box, Harry swore he could <em>feel </em>something powerful and <em>magical</em> coming from it... Even Fawkes seemed to be eyeing it with clear interest, little trills only just loud enough to be heard above the sounds of the various machinery.</p>
<p>All this only made Harry more confused. —<em>Do muggles know about magic</em>? <em>Are</em> <em>they developing their own ‘magic’</em>?</p>
<p>While most of the occupants had returned to their work (though several kept shooting glances at both Harry and Fawkes), another man-in-black slipped in behind Fury, eyes on Harry. The bald man’s own eye finally focused on Harry as he stopped a couple feet from him. </p>
<p>“Sir, I would ask you to identify yourself... —you and the <em>bird</em>, along with how and why you infiltrated a highly restricted government facility.”</p>
<p>Harry gaped. - <em>What</em>? Infiltrate a <em>what</em>?</p>
<p>The man’s ever-present frown deepened into an un-amused scowl, for Harry to realise he might have said his thoughts aloud.</p>
<p>“Young man, I am Director Fury of SHIELD: Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division,” not that that helped Harry much, given that he’d never heard of them before, though Dudley’s films had mentioned an... <em>S.I.A.</em>? ... <em>S.I.E.</em>?... Something like that. “Mind telling us who you are? And how you were able to activate the Tesseract and use it to enter this facility.”</p>
<p>But before Harry could think of an appropriate answer, the large blue box juddered violently. Harry took an unconscious step back, eyes wide open, as sparks pulsated from it, each bigger than the last. And then —</p>
<p>A huge beam of energy traced the length of the room, and-</p>
<p>—<em>An</em> <em>explosion</em>. A cloud of the bright blue light-energy billowed out from the platform Harry had been standing on not moments before.</p>
<p>Harry blinked away the splotches of light that had been seared into his eyes until his vision cleared. For him to blink once more: a figure now resided on the once-empty platform. It was a man half-kneeling, holding a staff with a glowing blue stone at its head; one not too different from that of the glowing blue box.</p>
<p>Even as residual light-blue flames danced on and around him, the man appeared completely unbothered as he righted himself with ease. If anything, he looked... <em>pleased</em>?</p>
<p>Was this how he himself had appeared in this room?  A great big beam of powerful blue energy - a sphere exploding - blue flames... and Harry was on the platform?</p>
<p>He hadn’t ever seen the like in the wizarding world. The closest comparison he could come up with was the Floo system, and look how well his first experience of <em>that </em>had turned out...</p>
<p>His mind gave a jolt; was <em>that</em> what had happened <em>here</em>? Had he accidentally been picked up and brought to a destination not intended for him?</p>
<p>The man didn’t appear the least bit surprised to find himself on the platform...</p>
<p>Though... the man also looked... <em>well</em>, <em>ill</em>.</p>
<p>Then again, the ‘ride’ hadn’t really been pleasant for Harry either. Still, even as ‘Director Fury’ called out to the man, Harry continued to note how pale and flush he looked, the deep dark circles under his eyes... It took Harry a moment to realise who the man reminded Harry of: <em>Ginny</em>, throughout the year, looking ill and—</p>
<p>As if to prove Harry’s observations wrong, the man chose that moment to <em>not</em> ‘<em>put down his ‘spear’</em>’, and instead pointed it towards the director... who was standing right next to Harry-</p>
<p>—Reacting on pure instinct more than anything else, Harry pushed the muggle director out of the way as a blue beam of energy streaked towards them. The quick rhythm of gunshots and fighting echoed off of the sides of the chamber.</p>
<p>Catching his breath, Harry looked up in time to see the director also righting himself.</p>
<p>His eyes swiveled to the fight. The ...<em>wizard(?) </em>jumped around the muggle agents, firing more of the blue beams to any who dared be in his way, be they  those in armoured black uniforms, those in business suits, or those in white muggle laboratory coats... At one point he even started throwing knives at them, moving too fast for any to stop him. He weaved between them with an inhuman ease, confirming all the more that he was definitely not a muggle. He was even wearing some type of robes; not like any Harry had ever seen before, but definitely <em>not</em> muggle.</p>
<p>The agent who was the closest to the director and Harry moved forward, putting himself between Director Fury and the man, clearly ready to shoot the wizard, only to be grabbed and his arm twisted, the wizard stopping him mid-action with ease.</p>
<p>“<em>You have heart.</em>”</p>
<p>With those words, the wizard aimed his staff’s tip right at the muggle agent’s heart —but instead of piercing him through, the tip only touched his chest... The man’s eyes filled entirely black… to settle into a startling ice-blue. He hesitated for the barest of moments... to store his gun back in its holster.</p>
<p>Movement in Harry’s peripheral vision captured his attention. He turned his head to see the director pull the glowing blue box from where it was embedded and place it into a large briefcase —</p>
<p>“<em>Please don’t. I still need that</em>.”</p>
<p>Harry’s head snapped back to the wizard, his own attention fixed on the director -or really, on the case.</p>
<p>The director’s voice hardened, “This doesn’t have to get any messier.”</p>
<p>“Of course it does. I’ve come too far for anything else. —I am <em>Loki</em>... of Asgard. And I am burdened with glorious purpose.”</p>
<p><em>Loki</em>?... <em>Asgard</em>?</p>
<p>Harry frowned, recognising both names from his Magical Theory’s class.</p>
<p>“<em>Loki, brother of Thor</em>?” Another voice called from behind them. A somewhat portly man propped  himself up from his prone position next to one of the many other people who had been felled by the wizard.</p>
<p>Yet his question only confused Harry more: <em>Thor’s brother</em>?</p>
<p>Were these wizards muggle-baiting? Pretending themselves to be Norse gods... Perhaps in the United States (if this was where they currently were?), wizards weren’t as strictly supervised, and laws weren’t as stringent as in Wizarding Britain?... Though Hermione had made the Statute of Secrecy sound like a pretty important law that <em>all</em> wizards had to abide by...</p>
<p>...Which was probably why they were pretending to be gods from folklore? This could possibly also explain quite a lot of the ‘conspiracy theories’ Hermione had mentioned that tended to come from the US; maybe all those stories of aliens and such were just wizards tricking unsuspecting muggles? Similar to those that Mr. Weasley had to deal with in his department in the Ministry.</p>
<p>“We have no quarrel with your people.” </p>
<p>“An ant has no quarrel with a boot.”</p>
<p>If at all possible, Harry tensed further at the statement. He did not like where this conversation was going.</p>
<p>“Are you planning to step on us?” Clearly the muggle director hadn’t liked it either.</p>
<p>Not that the man seemed bothered. He smiled with all his teeth at the scowling director, “I come with glad tidings -” Harry wondered  if he should reach for his own wand (though how much of a chance did he have against a grown wizard?), as ‘Loki’ sauntered slowly towards the man who had referred to him ‘Thor’s brother.’... To suddenly snap his gaze back to Director Fury, “- of a world made free.”</p>
<p>“Free from <em>what</em>?”</p>
<p>“<em>Freedom</em>. Freedom is life’s great lie. Once you accept that, in your heart-” —‘Loki’ swiftly turned and poked the portly man with his staff’s tip —his eyes going black then ice blue, just like the others. “-you will know peace.”</p>
<p>But before Director Fury could reply, the first muggle-agent to have been put under the blue-eye-spell called out to ‘Loki’, “Sir, Director Fury is stalling. This place is about to blow and drop a hundred feet of rock on us... He means to bury us.”</p>
<p>“He’s right,” confirmed the blue-eyed-and-portly muggle as he looked at whatever the computer screen displayed “The portal is collapsing in on itself. We’ve got maybe two minutes before this goes critical,” </p>
<p>“Well then.”</p>
<p>For the second time, Harry reacted without thinking; just as the blue-eyed agent pulled his gun out, Harry pushed the director out of the way —and felt the <em>woosh! as</em> the bullet just missed him.</p>
<p>He looked up, and released a small sigh; it hadn’t hit the director either.</p>
<p>And yet, due to his quick action, the muggle-director was now on his back, twisted, and wasn't able to react in time as the blue-eyed agent gave a swift quick to the hand holding the case. The agent just as quickly grabbed it.</p>
<p>As for the wizard ‘Loki’: for the first time since his arrival, his attention focused solely on Harry, as if he had only just noticed him. Harry skittered back as the man’s head tilted ever so slightly; piercing blue eyes looked straight at him. Heart beating rapidly, he wondered if <em>now</em> would be a very good time to draw out his wand... for all the good it would do against an adult wizard passing himself off as a Norse god.</p>
<p>The situation reminded him of his encounter last year when Voldemort had been possessing Professor Quirrell...</p>
<p>...Though this time there was no protection from his mother’s love to save him...-</p>
<p>As if to reinforce the feeling further, the wizard’s gaze just as quickly snapped to Harry’s scar. But there was none of the typical recognition Harry usually got from meeting new witches or wizards. The man only frowned and refocused his gaze to the whole of Harry, lips pursed in incomprehension.</p>
<p>And yet, the wizard dismissed him just as quickly, instead striding behind the others on their way out of the room while Harry just stood, unable to do much of anything but watch.</p>
<p>Behind him, Director Fury started speaking. Mind snapping back to the here-and-now, Harry turned to find him with a muggle radio, calling into it, “<em>Hill</em>! - Do you copy? - Barton... has turned.”</p>
<p>Whatever reply Fury got, Harry didn’t hear. The conversation was drowned out by the <em>groaning</em> of the surrounding infrastructure, which reminded Harry that the big blue energy cloud was about to destroy the room. He scurried behind the director out of the room, as Director Fury continued to call into his radio, “Get the Tesseract. <em>Shut</em> them <em>down</em>.”</p>
<p>Trying to escape while also trying to keep an eye on the structure that had started to fall around them, Harry was caught off guard when Fawkes suddenly appeared, swooping down in front of him. Embarrassingly, with everything that had just happened in the matter of minutes, he had completely forgotten about the phoenix.</p>
<p>The phoenix who was now fluttering in front of him, his beady eyes bright in the dark, waving his long golden tail feathers at Harry. Harry blinked uncertainly at him—</p>
<p>For Harry to realise - he called out to the director, “sir - <em>sir - Director Fury, sir</em>!”</p>
<p>Finally the director looked at him. Harry offered him his hand, “We’ve got to hold on to each other—”</p>
<p>“What do you mean? —<em>We need to get out of here</em>!”</p>
<p>“Yes! - That’s why you need to grab my hand! Fawkes isn’t an ordinary bird—”</p>
<p>Harry held back a groan; it was clear that the man wasn’t going to listen, probably wasn’t used to getting orders from others, especially not from children... But they were losing time and Harry wasn’t sure if he should mention to the muggle that Fawkes happened to be a <em>mythical magical phoenix</em>. Instead, he just reached out and took hold of Fawkes’s tail feathers - strangely hot - and then grabbed the director.</p>
<p>An extraordinary lightness spread through his whole body, and in the next second, in a rush of wings, he heard a short yelp behind him — they were flying... Upward they flew as debris fell all around them... until they were flying over the building. The chill air whipped through Harry’s hair as he and the director watched in mute horror as the roof caved in all that much faster, just as a muggle helicopter escaped in the nick of time, and as the cracks deepened into full-on crevices...</p>
<p>The entire complex of buildings imploded — crumbling in on itself, to sink into the ground below...</p>
<p>As the destruction started spreading outward,  Harry heard a call; the director was calling out to him, pointing to something below; “Get him to fly to that jeep!”</p>
<p>Harry looked to where he was pointing and  there was indeed a jeep, one with a bright blue light coming from the back — and the man, ‘Loki’.</p>
<p>Fawkes must have heard him as well, as they started flying in its direction.</p>
<p>— <em>Bang, bang</em>; impatient, the director had already pulled out his gun and fired at the jeep. Harry  nearly let go of Fawkes’ tail as ‘Loki’ returned fire— sending a blast at them...</p>
<p>Fawkes was thankfully able to swerve out of the way... — and Harry found himself hitting the ground as Fawkes landed nearby, all while sending a cacophony of angry trills and squawks at the director.</p>
<p>Harry was tempted to yell at the man himself, truth be told.</p>
<p>Instead, he scanned the horizon for the jeep. Not that they could see much of it anymore: it was now but the size of a snitch, the faint blue light glowing from its back as it drove off into the distance.</p>
<p>Turning back to the director, Harry regarded him warily as he slipped his gun back into its holster, and took out his radio once more, “The Tesseract is with a hostile force. I have men down. Hill?”</p>
<p>
  <em>“A lot of men still under. Don’t know how many survivors.”</em>
</p>
<p>“Sound a general call. I want every living soul not working rescue looking for that briefcase.”</p>
<p>
  <em>“Roger that.”</em>
</p>
<p>“Coulson, get back to base. - This is a level seven. As of right now we are at war.”</p>
<p>
  <em>“What do we do?”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you so much for the wonderful comments and kudos already received for this story. - I had quite a bit of trouble when writing and editing this second chapter, especially the Fury-Romanov part, giving me quite a few headaches, but just cant look at it anymore; hopefully it will meet your expectations.</p>
<p>Some parts of the text in this chapter have been taken from HP&amp;tCoS and ‘The Avengers’ (2012) film.<br/>-</p>
<p>11/11/2020 Minor edits to the text. Thank you so much to <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/rosaamarilla/pseuds/rosaamarilla">rosaamarilla</a> (Ao3) for an amazing read through</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <strong>CHAPTER 2</strong>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>-</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p></p><blockquote>
  <p><em>“Please, sir, don’t legends always have a basis in fact?” - </em>Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets</p>
</blockquote><p> </p>
<p>-</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Harry woke with a start, loud grumblings attacking him from all sides.</p>
<p>Head muddled, he looked around the room. Off-white grey floor, small, there was barely anything in it but the adult sized bed, a side table and chair. The main door led out into the hall, accompanied by two side-doors; one a built-in wardrobe and the other a wash-room that Harry had already used when he had first been led to the room. It was a far cry from the homely feel of the Gryffindor Tower or the Burrow, but it was still loads better than the cupboard under the stairs... or even Dudley’s old room, which was even now still half-filled with a trail of broken toys marking various stages of his cousin’s childhood.</p>
<p>In all honesty, Harry was surprised he hadn’t been put in some sort of cell. Or at least one that looked more prison-like.</p>
<p>This room could actually be a bedroom for a soldier-agent working on this... ship. The small attached bathroom even had a shower, and Harry was supplied with a towel. They had also given him a change of clothes, albeit some slightly too big for him (though still a better fit than Dudley’s old clothes).</p>
<p>In any case, as far he could note, nothing was amiss —<em>well</em>, nothing more than it already was. His torn, soiled robes and boots along with the Sorting Hat were all sitting on the table. Fawkes, perched on the back of the chair, was flapping his wings, clearly as disturbed as Harry by the continuous groaning sound.</p>
<p>He shifted the bed sheets out of the way, scooting towards the window—</p>
<p>And blinked owlishly: the ship was <em>rising</em>, as in rising out of the water. Harry gaped as it floated higher and higher, the water falling by the gallons back down into the ocean until the hull was no longer submerged... Apparently this wasn’t just a huge muggle military ship - one so big it carried aeroplanes on its two decks - it was a huge muggle military <em>flying</em> ship.</p>
<p>Wide-eyed, Harry sunk back into bed and leaned against the wall, pondering everything that had happened and trying once more to make sense of it all now that he had gotten some rest.</p>
<p>Not long after the muggle director had ended his radio call, a helicopter had landed and taken both Director Fury and himself. (Not that they would have let Harry just go wandering out on his own.) The director had proceeded to spend half of the long flight giving out orders to various numbers of people--orders that Harry hadn’t been able to catch. The other half, unfortunately, had been split between grilling Harry for answers and scowling out the window to where Fawkes’ wide scarlet wings could occasionally be seen against the dark night sky, a soft golden glow trailing behind him — before turning his scowl back at Harry...</p>
<p>Never before had Harry been so thankful for the years of stares-glares-glowers from Uncle Vernon and Professor Snape. (Or even his past experiences of staring at a huge three-headed dog, a huge spider and its many children and grandchildren, or confronting Voldemort, <em>twice</em>.) The director actually reminded Harry somewhat of Snape; angry with the world and suspicious of everyone and everything, especially of everything and anything to do with Harry.</p>
<p>All in all, the muggle director’s glower had been less intimidating than he had probably hoped...</p>
<p>... Nor had Harry been able to answer many of his questions.</p>
<p>While the other wizard had pretended to be a Norse god, Harry was in no way ready to do the same. On the other hand, he had been even less inclined to tell the muggle man about magic and witches and wizards existing —or even to give his own name. He could just imagine the looks on Uncle Vernon’s and Aunt Petunia’s faces when American secret agents knocked on their front door, asking them all sorts of questions about Harry and how he was able to get into their underground base when he was supposed to be at school.... A school the agency wouldn’t even be able to visit.</p>
<p>This was of course how Harry had ended up saying the first name that popped into his head: <em>Salazar Slytherin</em>.</p>
<p>As for how Harry had gotten into the top-secret underground laboratory; Harry had replied honestly: he had no idea...</p>
<p>... Nor did he have any idea what happened to the sword he had been holding when he had first arrived.</p>
<p>All things considered, it wasn’t at all that surprising that the man had looked far from convinced by Harry’s lack of an explanation... or that he had then focused on Harry’s torn clothes covered in slime and blood. Harry assumed that <em>that </em>was the main reason he would be considered any kind of threat; because of his bloodied appearance... and the - mysteriously disappearing - sword. Which had been precisely what Harry had no interest in delving into. </p>
<p>It wasn’t like he could tell the muggle director much about the sentient-soul-sucking diary who had been using his best friend’s little sister to control a thousand-year-old basilisk into attacking the muggleborns of the school, which included Harry’s other best friend. Or how said diary had proceeded to kidnap Ginny in order to go from being the fifty-year-old memory of the wizard who had killed Harry’s parents to being alive... and all of this in order to take revenge on Harry for having defeated his older self...</p>
<p>The best Harry could come up with was the half-truth: that he had been dealing with an <em>issue... an abduction,</em> when a great big ball of light and power had formed and pulled him in… into the underground lab. At which point, he had quickly side-stepped the subject by asking the director what the glowing blue box in the lab was and why ‘Loki’ had stolen it?</p>
<p>Not that Director Fury had answered that or any of his other questions.</p>
<p>At least the director had looked slightly more convinced of Harry not knowing a ‘Loki’ —or a ‘Thor’.</p>
<p>Thinking about it now, Harry was even more certain that ‘Loki’ (and ‘Thor’) was a wizard playing tricks on muggles. The Norse god Loki wasn’t even Thor’s <em>brother</em>, or from <em>Asgard</em>. He was the son of a Jötunn giant and a goddess from the Vanir, not the Æsir (though Hermione had mentioned that some texts insisted she was a giantess, although a <em>fire</em> giantess rather than a frost one).</p>
<p>Head hitting the wall, his eyes stared unseeing at the ceiling above, for a long sigh to escape him...</p>
<p>At least he was now clean and somewhat rested... and Fawkes was with him.</p>
<p>The best he could hope for was that Ginny, Ron, and Lockhart had somehow gotten out of the Chamber and were able to tell Professor McGonagall what had happened — however much that was.</p>
<p>Then again, Professor Dumbledore must know something had happened; surely the teachers had at least told him there had been another attack.</p>
<p>Or even the American wizard ministry. Surely they had somehow learned about what had happened in the desert. <em>Surely </em>an entire compound - albeit secret - imploding  into the ground had set off some sort of magical alarms. The energy from that bright blue box had definitely felt magical. </p>
<p>—And Professor Dumbledore was <em>Supreme Mugwump</em> of the International Confederation of Wizards. That must count for something right? Not to mention being a Grand Sorcerer and having defeated Grindelwald... and... and... —<em>Fawkes</em>. Fawkes was <em>his</em> phoenix... and he was Headmaster of Hogwarts—<em>he</em> was <em>Harry’s</em> Headmaster... surely all that counted for <em>something</em>...</p>
<p>(Surely Professor Dumbledore wouldn’t accuse him of having stolen his bird...)</p>
<p>Harry was honestly surprised no one had come to check on him yet (at the very least, to accuse him of theft)...</p>
<p>A small smile formed as he imagined Hagrid bursting through the door like he had done in the shack to give him his letter...</p>
<p>The smile just as quickly dimmed; even Fawkes seemed baffled by their current predicament. - Once they had been left alone in the room, Harry had been reminded of the heap of trouble Ron and he had gotten into with the barrier and Mr Weasley’s car. In hysterics, Harry had searched high-and-low for a scrap of paper to write on until remembering the one in his pocket, and then had asked the phoenix if he would be so kind as to deliver that paper detailing their current predicament to Hogwarts. But the bird had only twisted his head round, fluttered his wings, and trilled in confusion... Perhaps the bird knew of the Statute and was wary of breaking it?</p>
<p>In all honesty, Harry still couldn’t wrap his head around <em>how</em> Fawkes and he had travelled from Slytherin’s Secret Chamber underneath Hogwarts in <em>Scotland</em>, to some secret muggle government building in the <em>United States</em>?—</p>
<p>Harry yelped as something landed in his lap. Something cloth-like.</p>
<p>His head snapped down to find Fawkes having landed on the edge of the bed... and the Sorting Hat now in Harry’s lap...</p>
<p>—The <em>Sorting Hat</em>. Harry felt his stomach drop; He had for all intents and purposes taken the <em>Sorting Hat</em>!</p>
<p>Given that it sorted every new student that came to the school, he assumed it was considered one of the more important items in the school. <em>Merlin</em>, it had probably been at Hogwarts since it was first built. Harry bit back a groan; He could already see at least Professor Snape - or even Mr Malfoy, who <em>of course</em> was on the school board - accusing him of having stolen it, and demanding Harry be expelled.</p>
<p>At least Fawkes didn’t look all that concerned, blinking benignly at him. If anything the phoenix seemed to want Harry to have the hat... to hold the hat - to <em>wear</em> the hat(?) as he nudged it closer to Harry with his long, sharp beak... He fluttered his wings and gave a soft trill, his black eye staring directly into Harry’s—</p>
<p>A knock at the door resounded throughout the room.</p>
<p>Harry’s gaze snapped to it as Fawkes moved to perch on his knee, as if to reassure him. While not expected, neither was the knock all that unexpected. He wouldn’t be surprised if the director somehow knew he had woken up. <em>Merlin</em>, there were probably hidden cameras in the room like in Dudley’s spy films.</p>
<p>“Y-Yes?”</p>
<p>The door slid open with a soft whoosh.</p>
<p>But it wasn’t Director Fury or even the agent who had brought him to the room earlier. It was a man... who looked <em>normal</em>. He even wore a typical office business suit complete with a black tie. He actually reminded Harry of most of the men living in Little Whinging.</p>
<p>“Hello Mr Slytherin, I’m Agent Phil Coulson.” Even the small smile he gave seemed like the generic polite-without-being-<em>too</em>-friendly smile that Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia always used for the neighbours.</p>
<p>The only thing that actually stood out was the tray in his hand, “May I come in? I brought some breakfast-<em>or really</em>, lunch, for you-” his eyes momentarily lowering to Fawkes, “-and your bird... unless you would prefer to go to the cafeteria?”</p>
<p>“Oh, umm, no-no here’s fine; thank you.” Harry had no interest in more people staring at him.</p>
<p>He watched as the muggle - ‘Agent Coulson’ - entered the room... and presented the tray to him. Harry took it from him, Fawkes shifting out of the way some, for Agent Coulson to take a seat in the chair.</p>
<p>Wanting something to do, Harry peered down at the tray: a stack of thick pancakes that would have Dudley salivating, a fruit salad, orange juice, and... bird seeds(?)... His stomach grumbled loudly, reminding Harry that he hadn’t eaten since before Ginny had been taken into the Chamber.</p>
<p>The same was probably the case for Fawkes as well, given how quick he was to peck at  the food; he went straight for the fruit, ignoring the seeds entirely. Not that Harry minded. Keeping an eye on the agent, he picked up the knife and fork and cut into the pancakes; Thicker and not as wide as he had previously had, but still wonderful - especially with the treacle they had put on it, even if it wasn’t golden syrup <a href="#_ftn1" id="_ftnref1" name="_ftnref1">[1]</a>.</p>
<p>“I wanted to thank you for saving Director Fury last night-”</p>
<p>Harry blinked at the agent, his latest bite becoming harder to swallow.</p>
<p>“-I’ve worked with him a while now; can’t say how relieved I was when I heard he was able to get out in time.”</p>
<p>Throat dry, Harry took a swig of the juice. His other hand reached out to card through Fawkes scarlet-and-gold plumage, before giving a small shrug, “Umm... that’s- that’s no problem... It was mostly Fawkes. He’s the one who carried us out...”</p>
<p>“Well, thank you - to you both,” his smile going from Fawkes back to Harry. “You’re really lucky to have such a loyal pet.” Harry spluttered.</p>
<p>“Oh, Fawkes isn’t my pet, he’s-” <em>Well</em>, he couldn’t really well say he was Professor Dumbledore’s phoenix “-that is to say, he’s not a pet... to anyone. He’s more his own... bird.” —‘<em>Songbird</em>’ was how Riddle had described him. Harry shook the thought from his head. Fawkes was far more than just a ‘songbird’; he had <em>saved</em> Harry’s life - <em>twice</em>, given the secret base collapse. “He’s really intelligent... and faithful to those who have earned his trust.” He was pretty sure that was how Professor Dumbledore had introduced the phoenix all those months ago.</p>
<p>“Well I’m glad you were able to earn his trust then, Mr Slytherin.”</p>
<p>Suddenly uncomfortable, Harry lowered his head and gazed at Fawkes instead. Though his throat felt strangely tight, he managed a smile as he let his fingers trail through the bird’s feathers, his warm weight comforting.</p>
<p>“<em>Yeah</em>, so am I. More than you can possibly know.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <strong>-</strong>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Fury watched as Dr Banner was guided out of the room and towards the already prepared lab, some of his usual composure finally returning. With any luck the Tesseract would be back in SHIELD’s hands soon, the Mojave incident would be put behind them, and focus would return to Phase Two.</p>
<p>“<em>Any news on Loki</em>?”</p>
<p>His jaw twitched at the reminder of whom currently had the Cube. He turned towards the direction of the voice, coming face-to-face with Romanov.</p>
<p>Her own thoughts were far too evident by what was displayed on the screen she had clearly  just risen from:  the face-trace on Agent Barton. Not that it had picked up much of anything yet.</p>
<p>“Nothing so far; Good job with the doc.”</p>
<p>There was barely a nod of acknowledgement as she moved to another monitor. “And the other unknown - ‘Salazar Slytherin’?” The question was asked as she looked at the screen which currently showed Agent Coulson with the subject in question.</p>
<p>Fury shifted closer to take a look for himself, jaw twitching again; <em>unknown</em> indeed.</p>
<p>Slytherin’s file was riddled with the word ‘<em>unknown</em>’ or other versions of the word.</p>
<p>Facial recognition had come up with nothing. And the machine hadn’t even been able to read his prints, let alone scan them on any database. The only - rather weak - lead was his accent, which the analysts had placed as British-English from the Greater London area. Low-level feelers had been sent to the various British agencies including the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA)<a href="#_ftn1" id="_ftnref1" name="_ftnref1">[2]</a>, but nothing had come up so far and Fury doubted anything would.</p>
<p>As for the rest...</p>
<p>His clothes were like nothing Fury had ever seen in the UK or anywhere else for that matter. The shape and cut were both unusual, exhibiting only a passing resemblance to European fashion from several centuries ago according to the SHIELD researchers. And as for their composition, which had been analyzed courtesy of the samples they had been able to swipe: even more ‘<em>unknown</em>’s. </p>
<p>The black… <em>tunic</em> and undershirt consisted of an unidentifiable fabric comparable to cotton, and the boot leather was sourced from an unknown animal hide. The grime and blood splatters hadn’t clarified matters, given that they were contaminated by an unidentified venom and another <em>unknown</em> toxin. The only thing that the lab techs had been able to deduce was that the venom had remained highly toxic and corrosive even though it had already been greatly diluted- possibly even disintegrated, by the other toxin and by the blood. Fury wasn’t sure if he was relieved or frustrated that the traces of both were too minute to conduct more testing and research.<a href="#_ftn2" id="_ftnref2" name="_ftnref2">[3]</a></p>
<p>Even the damned bird was unidentifiable. It ‘<em>shared similarities</em>’ with ‘resplendent quetzals’ - though much larger and bright red rather than green, and ‘hoatzins’- though more colourful and with a much longer tail; while its beak and claws were more in line with that of raptors, such as hawks or eagles.<a href="#_ftn3" id="_ftnref3" name="_ftnref3">[4]</a></p>
<p>As for the <em>bloody</em> sword, from what little footage they actually had of it, the most the analysts had been able to conclude was that it was a single-handed weapon and looked similar to Ulfberht swords, though the metal’s ‘‘<em>shine’ was all wrong</em>’. That, and the gems (possibly rubies) and gold adornments were not typical of that particular form or of the period.<a href="#_ftn4" id="_ftnref4" name="_ftnref4">[5]</a></p>
<p>Fury had of course been keeping an eye on both the kid and the bird since they had arrived on the Helicarrier; not that it amounted to much. Clearly dead on his feet, Slytherin had taken just enough time to clean all the filth off himself before falling asleep.</p>
<p>Fury eyed Romanov, “You all caught up on Slytherin?”</p>
<p>Only briefly taking her eyes from the screen, she nodded, “Coulson debriefed me when I got back from Russia; watched the whole footage from Mojave - from his entrance till the feed was lost - along with the exchange in the helicopter, when we were returning from picking up the big guy.”</p>
<p>“What’s your take on him?”</p>
<p>It took a few moments for Romanov to respond, her eyes all the more focused on the kid. “Not a hostile —not yet at least; ‘<em>Salazar Slytherin</em>’’s clearly not his real name-”</p>
<p>Fury held back a scoff, he could have told her that. But if there was one agent he tried not to interrupt, especially while profiling, it was Romanov -</p>
<p>“-but nor is it made up. He’s used a name he knows; some sort of authority figure. And not just any; a well-known figure. One that would make heads turn and pay attention if heard in the right circles. Not one he necessarily likes, just the first that came to mind. - Not that he necessarily dislikes him either. He did choose the name after all; less chance of choosing the name of someone he holds in contempt. But it does hint at a possible distrust of authority.”</p>
<p>Fury raised an eyebrow at that, a movement that Romanov somehow noticed while still facing the screen; “In the various feeds, he was more wary of you - especially after you introduced yourself with the title ‘director’ - than he was of the agents holding guns. Definitely guarded when you asked him even the most basic questions. - Could have just been you and your pretty brown eye, true, but I don’t buy it,” She finished that statement with a smirk.</p>
<p>Truthfully, Fury had noticed that as well; which was why he had sent Coulson. Hopefully the unassuming, calm-demeanoured agent would be able to get more out of the kid.</p>
<p>“But he’s been trained.”</p>
<p>Romanov gave a sharp nod in agreement. “Some is more than likely inborn talent, but he’s definitely received some sort of training; at least to an extent. His reaction to when Loki started attacking the agents is telling. He was surprised, but didn’t flinch or panic as you would expect of a civilian. If anything, he tensed, became more guarded and alert. He more than likely has not only witnessed fighting before, but has been a part of it. He’s definitely seen death, and possibly even killed himself. —He <em>did</em> appear with a bloodied sword in his hand after all.”</p>
<p>“Do you think he’s working with Loki?”</p>
<p>The question wasn’t without merit.</p>
<p><em>Hell</em>, the kid even shared a passing resemblance with the Asgardian; to the point that for a split-second, Fury had considered that they might even be related (Slytherin definitely looked more like Loki than Thor did). ...Then again there were hundreds of dark-haired, pale-skinned, slim-figured individuals out there that could just as easily be thought akin to Loki. — Not that any of <em>them</em> had come through a portal (with an unknown species of bird and sword) minutes before Loki had.</p>
<p>Still, Fury couldn’t help but feel relief when Romanov shook her head negative, all but confirming his own gut feeling on the matter.</p>
<p>“He showed no recognition when Loki first appeared; just more uncertainty and wariness. Nor did he show any awareness of the Tesseract, while Loki undoubtedly came specifically for it amongst other things. — That being said, he <em>did</em> recognise the name Loki; he’s definitely heard of ‘Loki’ before - as well as ‘Asgard’ and ‘Thor’.”</p>
<p>Fury nodded.  When he had looked over the footage, he had noticed the same. On the other hand, when he had subtly slipped in ‘Kree’ - ‘Hala’ - ‘Skrull’ - ‘Torfa’ when questioning Slytherin in the chopper, there had been no discernible reaction. Other than his unnaturally green eyes that had reminded Fury somewhat of Yon-Rogg’s, there was nothing linking him to that part of the universe. If he was from outside Earth, he was most likely from somewhere within the ‘Nine Realms’ rather than anywhere near where Danvers had gone (not that he was any less wary of the bird; after ‘Goose’, he was keeping his remaining eye right where it was).</p>
<p>Romanov’s response was confirmation enough for Fury to speak into Coulson’s earpiece, “Try to find out what he knows about Loki, Thor, and Asgard.”</p>
<p>He waited for Coulson’s signal of acknowledgement before posing his next question:</p>
<p>“Human or... <em>other</em> in your opinion?”</p>
<p>“His reaction speed and agility, not to mention strength, points to being non-human. While you weren’t expecting it, he <em>was</em> able to destabilise you, to the point of pushing you over - a mass more than three times his own body weight - <em>twice</em>. And he was able to avoid a close-range bullet from Barton; even if Barton had been aiming only to injure you, the bullet <em>missed</em>. Both hint at a super-human morphology, closer to that of Asgardians... On the other hand, he has definitely had previous interactions with humans. Or, at the very least, he’s been briefed about Earth by others who did a detailed covert surveillance of the planet; but I’m leaning more towards the former.”</p>
<p>Fury raised an eyebrow.</p>
<p>“Not only did he recognise the machines and weapons, but the words and terminology you and others used. The only thing that seemed to truly stump him was the Tesseract - i.e. the only thing he hadn’t had any previous knowledge about.”</p>
<p>She gave a small shrug, “I would even say that his English is very good, but given how little we know about Asgardian ‘<em>AllSpeak</em>’, there’s a chance Slytherin isn’t even speaking English. Rather, he could be using AllSpeak or some other language that works in a similar way.”</p>
<p>Fury grunted. What little Thor, Selvig, or the other researchers had gotten them on ‘AllSpeak’ was vague at best.</p>
<p>“And then there are his scars.”</p>
<p>Fury had definitely noticed the two scars as well. It was highly unlikely that a random - <em>human</em> - civilian would have such scars.</p>
<p>“The tears and blood splatters around the one on his arm more than heavily imply a fresh injury, but the scar itself looks to be several weeks old. Possible fast healing abilities?<a href="#_ftn5" id="_ftnref5" name="_ftnref5">[6]</a> ... As for the one on his forehead...</p>
<p>“His own interactions and movements in regard to it are telling. The way he reacts to people — he expects people to know who he is. Just like the way he expects people to look at the scar; The scar is somehow a sign - a confirmation of his identity. Which also means the manner in which he received it is more than likely known and is part of why he and his scar are supposedly well-known. Just like the way he unconsciously flattens his hair, covering it is a cry for anonymity. To not only avoid identification, but probably to avoid being reminded of the events linked to how he got it...</p>
<p>“His attachment to the bird — dependency on the bird, hints at emotional deprivation; not having received the same from an adult or sibling, even possibly having been abused. As a result, he only attaches himself to those he has had positive interactions with <em>and </em>who have somehow earned his trust. This is supported by how he seems to shy away from praise; he’s not used to receiving it. Conversely, this has also made him guarded against those with any sort of authority. Not only does he question any possible praise such figures give him, he links them to those who didn’t provide emotional or physical support, those who let him be mistreated without doing anything to stop it... or even to those who were the source of the abuse. - Just as he can’t sit back and witness someone in danger without doing something — especially if the victim is innocent or what he deems as ‘weaker’. He believes that no-one else will help, just as no-one helped him.”</p>
<p>Fury tried not to react; he wasn’t sure how he should take the possibility of being perceived as ‘weaker’ by a kid who looked about ten and barely came to his chest.</p>
<p>“There is a high probability that he is an only child... an <em>orphan</em> - most likely from a young age. - If he is an orphan, I would say he got the scar during the incident that made him an orphan; he doesn’t see the scar as a link to <em>himself</em> but rather to those whose support he craves - his parents. It’s less a symbol of his survival, and more a reminder of their death, along with a reminder of how they died.”</p>
<p>“Parents’ killer carved it in him?” The idea made Fury silently ill.</p>
<p>“<em>No</em>” - the answer was harsh, albeit reassuring. “I can’t figure out the source of either scar, but even less so for the one on his brow. The one on his arm can at least be attributed to an animal of some kind, more than likely something with fangs. But no animal or blade would have been able to make something as thin and precise as the one on his forehead... There’s not even the slightest scratch or striation. Even a laser would have left the barest traces and indent where it first hit. It’s… —<em>perfect</em>.”</p>
<p>Romanov shifted ever so slightly, her eyes still fixed on the screen, more than likely on the boy’s scar.</p>
<p>“In any case - even if it had been carved, his interaction with it would be different; it would be a symbol of failure, pain, - <em>anger</em> - of having been <em>branded</em> in some way... He wouldn’t try to hide it under his hair; he would completely erase it. Instead, the scar is a proof of his survival - of him somehow—</p>
<p>-“We got a hit-”</p>
<p>Fury’s neck snapped towards the call just as Sitwell half-rose from his desk -“Sixty-seven percent match.”</p>
<p>He took another look at his screen as Romanov joined him at his station, “Wait- cross-match, seventy-nine percent.”</p>
<p>“Location?”</p>
<p>“Stuttgart, Germany... Twenty-eight Königstraße. He’s not exactly hiding.”</p>
<p>Wariness rather than satisfaction swirled inside of him at that statement.</p>
<p><em>Still,</em> Fury turned to where Rogers stood at the other end of the room, easily sticking out from all those focused on their screens. Stalking over towards the bridge, he called out, “Captain, you’re up.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <strong>-</strong>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“... and while Loki <em>is</em> the trickster god of mischief, he’s not of the Æsir. — He’s of the Vanir if anything.”</p>
<p>“The Vanir?”</p>
<p>Harry wasn’t sure how it had happened, but somehow they had gone from talking about Fawkes to ‘Loki’, Harry explaining why he was obviously not who he said he was.</p>
<p>It wasn’t like Harry was saying anything that couldn’t be verified in a well-researched muggle book. He knew for a fact that Hermione had used at least three muggle sources from the British Library (all while asking Ron why there wasn’t a wizarding alternative to the library) for her Magical Theory summer assignment on comparing at least two different magical foundations (Ron and Harry had done two - wand-based and Runic-based - while Hermione had done a comparison of <em>seven</em>).</p>
<p>After all, Norse mythology, like Greco-Roman Mythology, was just that: <em>mythology</em>.</p>
<p>Not to mention, it dated back to several centuries <em>before</em> the Statute. As it didn’t directly put the Magical World at risk, as Hermione explained it, it was one of those things where the knowledge had barely, if at all, been altered for muggles when the Statute had been put in place.</p>
<p>Though it obviously wasn’t something Agent Coulson had come across. He looked as lost as Mr Weasley had about the use of rubber ducks.</p>
<p>“They are like the second clan of ‘gods’,” Harry explained. Honestly, he was trying to remember all they had learned in their Magical Theory class. “While the Æsir come from Asgard, the Vanir come from Vanaheimr, which literally translates as ‘<em>Home of the Vanir</em>’. The two clans are known to have clashed a lot.”</p>
<p>“Clashed?”</p>
<p>“They honour and uphold different ideals, which led to confrontations. - The Æsir believed that fighting by the rules of plain combat - like with weapons and brute force - was more honourable. The Vanir tended to use what they generally referred to as <em>subtler</em> ways, mainly complex magic. The Æsir judged that as dishonourable, going as far as to compare most of Vanir magic to trickery. Each of course has their advantages and disadvantages, which led to stand-stills during their various battles — which in turn made them eventually agree to a truce.”</p>
<p>“A truce?”</p>
<p>“Yeah, eventually both sides got tired of fighting and decided to call a truce. The main part of the treaty was an exchange of... hostages to live within the other world.”</p>
<p>Agent Coulson’s eyes widened, “Hostages?”</p>
<p>“<em>Well</em>... not really hostages... just it would be their new home. I mean, the most famous one - Freya - who was supposedly the foremost practitioner of magic, ended up agreeing to <em>marry </em>Óðinn. Some say she even changed her name to Frigg or Frigga to symbolise that transition in her life.”</p>
<p>“So why wouldn’t Loki be considered of the Æsir, then, if even his mother married into it?”</p>
<p>“That’s because Freya <em>isn’t</em> Loki’s mother. Nor is Óðinn his father, for that matter. Whoever attacked your secret laboratory clearly isn’t Loki if he doesn’t even know who his own parents are supposed to be.”</p>
<p>“Indeed. So, Loki’s parents are from Vanaheimr?”</p>
<p>Harry bit his lip, “<em>Well</em> - Loki’s father is a Jötunn; they’re frost giants who dwell on Jötunheimr. As for his mother, <em>most</em> agree with the theory that she is a goddess from the Vanir, but there are a few who insist she was also a giant, though a ‘fire giant’ instead of a frost giant. However, that wouldn’t explain Loki’s ability for far more advanced magic than that of ice or fire, — that and his <em>less-than-giant</em> height.”</p>
<p>While the ‘Loki’ who had attacked the secret base had definitely been tall, he was far from Hagrid’s height or just general huge build.</p>
<p>“Whoever stole the glowing blue box, I would argue that he wanted to put the <em>blame</em> on Loki. I mean, it <em>would</em> make sense: Loki <em>is</em> the god of mischief. But they made two mistakes. First, by saying they were from Asgard — which could have been a small lapse in judgement given that after the truce, the two clans basically unified; though I think someone of the Vanir would still take issue with being called of the Æsir. But his biggest mistake was confirming that he was Thor’s brother. True, Óðinn and Freya have had several children, but Loki is not one of them.” <a href="#_ftn6" id="_ftnref6" name="_ftnref6">[6]</a></p>
<p>There was a pause in conversation wherein Agent Coulson nodded his head slightly while looking pensive, as if going over all that Harry had just told him. At least, he looked like he had really listened to Harry - and possibly even believed him (unlike the director who had mostly looked at Fawkes and him suspiciously, even after Fawkes had saved the both of them from the crumbling building). While Hagrid had gotten the blame (<em>twice</em>) for the attacks at Hogwarts, Harry was definitely going to try to set the record straight rather than let the wrong guy take the fall here as well. (Even if in this case the scapegoat <em>was</em> a Norse god from legend, he was one of Fred and George’s heroes-slash-role-models, after all.)</p>
<p>On the other hand, Harry wasn’t sure how much more he would be able to answer. His own knowledge of Norse Mythology only stretched so far. Part of him couldn’t actually believe he had been able to go on for so long.</p>
<p>Maybe he should suggest that Agent Coulson contact the British Library and look at their Humanities Section, like Hermione had? </p>
<p>Or, better yet, get in touch with a muggle historian, one specialising in Scandinavian folklore and Norse Mythology?</p>
<p>But before Harry could even think of how he would voice that idea though, Agent Coulson's pensive-but-calm facade abruptly changed into a frown. Rather than asking Harry any more questions, he quickly rose to his feet and marched towards the door before turning to give both Fawkes and Harry a nod and a smile, “Thank you, Mr Slytherin. I will definitely think about what you said... It could prove very useful. Unfortunately — duty calls and my files won’t write themselves.”</p>
<p>Harry flushed and was tempted to reach for the glass of orange juice again, his throat suddenly dry, “Uh, glad I could help... And good luck with your search; I hope you are able to find the... ‘tesserrack’ soon.”</p>
<p>Agent Coulson gave him another smile, “I hope so to,” before sliding the door shut behind him.</p>
<p>But before Harry could take a sip and mull over his interaction with the muggle agent, Fawkes landed in front of him, his beady eyes staring straight at Harry. Harry looked uncertainly back. The phoenix bent his head down and pecked at the (now mostly empty) tray, as if trying to reach whatever was beneath it. Confused, Harry lifted the tray --</p>
<p>The Sorting Hat. - <em>Of course</em>.</p>
<p>Harry had completely forgotten about it, accidentally hidden under the tray during his talk with Agent Coulson, but now Fawkes was nudging it at Harry once more, clearly offering it to him.</p>
<p>Feeling slightly foolish, Harry complied and put it on —</p>
<p>‘<em>Ah, Harry Potter - finally; I’ve been waiting to talk to you</em>.’</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <strong>= = =</strong>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p><a href="#_ftnref1" id="_ftn1" name="_ftn1">[1]</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pancake#Great_Britain">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pancake#Great_Britain</a> - pancakes in England tend to be wider and thinner (closer to French crepes) compared to the US pancakes; and the syrup used is golden syrup rather than maple syrup.</p>
<p><a href="#_ftnref1" id="_ftn1" name="_ftn1">[2]</a> Amazing bit of research found by rosaamarillla (ao3): The National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) was established in April of 2007 and dissolved in October 2013, and was meant to assist police in various ways, including the maintenance of the UK National DNA Database (NDNAD) up until October 2012. The NDNAD can be used to indirectly identify others in the population who are related to an individual with DNA filed within the database.<br/>
The superseding agency to this one is now known as the National Crime Agency (NCA), and is also colloquially referred to as the British FBI.</p>
<p><a href="#_ftnref2" id="_ftn2" name="_ftn2">[3]</a> Harry’s clothes; won’t go into it but will just say that the Hogwarts robes in my mind + for this story look nothing like those in the films, and Harry - not feeling any sort of positive attachment for Dudley/the Dursleys - would more than likely change into his wizarding/Hogwarts clothes as soon as was possible for him to do so. Even his shoes are from the Diagon Alley (I had something made out of graphorn or mooncalf hide in mind) as he more than likely out grew by now whatever pair of trainers he had before Hogwarts (and if nothing else Mrs Weasley would have probably insisted he get a new pair). If you are interested, I would recommend reading this internet article, which give a better/closer idea of what I imagine Hogwarts/Wizarding robes to look like: <a href="https://www.dailydot.com/parsec/harry-potter-hogwarts-robes-fan-theory/">https://www.dailydot.com/parsec/harry-potter-hogwarts-robes-fan-theory/</a> (though I would personally go more for something a little more 17<sup>th</sup> - or even 16<sup>th</sup> - Century rather than 18<sup>th</sup> given that the Statute was signed in 1689 and the wizarding community do seem reticent to change.)</p>
<p><a href="#_ftnref3" id="_ftn3" name="_ftn3">[4]</a> Cant make up my mind about how I imagine Fawkes/phoenix to look like, but did really like the look of the resplendent quetzal  (<a href="https://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/animals/stories/15-birds-spectacularly-fancy-tail-feathers">https://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/animals/stories/15-birds-spectacularly-fancy-tail-feathers</a>) and I also found interesting how the design varies even in the fandom; <a href="https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Phoenix#Behind_the_scenes">https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Phoenix#Behind_the_scenes</a></p>
<p><a href="#_ftnref4" id="_ftn4" name="_ftn4">[5]</a> Never liked the sword they chose in the Harry Potter&amp;CoS film; After having a quick look at wiki thought a Ulfberht type sword could be considered a more appropriate approximation to what Gryffindor’s ~10<sup>th</sup> Century sword could possibly look like; <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sword#Early_medieval_Europe">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sword#Early_medieval_Europe</a></p>
<p><a href="#_ftnref5" id="_ftn5" name="_ftn5">[6]</a> Harry wounds/scars and his/wixen ‘healing abilities’: I know in HP&amp;tCoS Harry says the wound from the basilisk fully heals and disappears but changed it slightly; any ‘magical wounds’ (especially Dark Magic) - ie the AK to the face and the basilisk can’t be fully healed to the point of disappearing, even with phoenix tears (and even if and after the Horcrux removed - in book 7 Harry still had a thin scar in the Epilogue after all). A trace will always remain.</p>
<p>On the other hand, ‘mundane scars’ - ie whatever had remained from Marge’s dog or Dudley&amp;Co beating him up (though hopefully/thankfully not too often given that Harry was faster/smarter), Petunia hitting him with a frying pan in the summer between 1<sup>st</sup> and 2<sup>nd</sup> year , Vernon’s general abuse of him were healed. (I also think that while wixen heal faster and are more resistant than mundane, given that Harry <em>was</em> a toddler then child - his magic still juvenile/unsettle and trying to figure itself - any injury or abuse he got while during childhood didn’t necessarily heal as well as it should have (not to mention, developing magic’s main thing shouldn’t be focused on healing/helping maintain an less than ideally nourished child) - Thankfully Fawkes tears healed/fixed all that... and his eyesight (his plastic Oxfam glasses were left in the Chamber with Ginny and the diary)</p>
<p><a href="#_ftnref6" id="_ftn6" name="_ftn6">[7]</a> Ok so... ‘spoiler’ I guess... maybe... but yeah: Harry is from a different universe/dimension to that of the Avengers. Just as their general History has a few differences (Harry’s is closer to ours, though even less technologically advanced than we are compared to the MCU)</p>
<p>In terms of Norse Mythology stuff/Stuff about Loki, Thor, Asgard; I tried to make it so that Harry’s ‘knowledge’/lessons of Norse Mythology is basically what the real world (reader’s world) Norse Mythology states. I will say though that my knowledge and research basically boils down to looking at several websites... and fudging ever-so-slight what I read, to make it fit with the native of the story.</p>
<p>On the other hand, the MCU/Avengers universe knowledge/history of Norse Mythology is rather different. If just for the fact that as far I understand it, the last time Asgard visited Earth (apart from when Thor was sent to Earth just before his coronation) was when they saved Earth from the Frost Giants ages before... when they somehow lost the esseract during the conflict; which unless I’m mistaken was before Odin stole/adopted Loki (and most probably before both Thor and Loki being born) - so whatever Norse Mythology this Earth has, it wouldn’t logically include gods who hadn’t yet existed; hence why SHIELD has basically nothing on Loki (and Thor and Asgard)... For those interested, my main source was wiki... but I did also have a look at <a href="https://norse-mythology.org/tales/the-aesir-vanir-war/">https://norse-mythology.org/tales/the-aesir-vanir-war/</a></p>
<p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Harry's day aboard the muggle *flying* military ship continues...</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Another headache-inducing chapter; definitely not my favourite to write, but it was a rather necessary chapter to have in my opinion.</p>
<p>In any case thank you all so much for the support/kudos/kind words you have already given me with regards to this story. And I can only hope you all approve in the direction it continues.</p>
<p>Some parts of the text in this chapter have been taken from HP&amp;tCoS<br/>-</p>
<p>11/11/2020 Minor edits to the text. Thank you so much to <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/rosaamarilla/pseuds/rosaamarilla">rosaamarilla</a> (Ao3) for an amazing read through</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p>
<p>
  <strong>CHAPTER 3</strong>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>-</p>
<p> </p>

<p></p><blockquote>
  <p><em>“Bee in your bonnet, Harry Potter?”</em> - Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets</p>
</blockquote><p> </p>
<p>-</p>
<p> </p>
<p>‘<em>Ah, Harry Potter - finally; I’ve been waiting to talk to you</em>.’</p>
<p>Harry blinked, though he really shouldn’t have been all that surprised; he’d already had two conversations with the Sorting Hat after all.</p>
<p>‘<em>Quite so, Mr Potter</em>,’ chuckled the Hat smartly. Even Fawkes seemed to be laughing, giving soft trills from his perch on Harry’s lap. ‘<em>Or, should I say</em> Salazar Slytherin?’</p>
<p>Harry’s cheeks warmed. It wasn’t like he had done it on purpose. Salazar Slytherin had been the first name that had popped in his head — <em>well</em>, apart from Tom Riddle. In no way was he about to use <em>that</em> name.</p>
<p>‘<em>No need for discomfort, Mr Potter. Given that you were indeed in Salazar’s underground Chambers, and you </em>had<em> just interacted with both his familiar and one of his descendants, it is understandable you thought of him as a suitable alternative identity.</em>’</p>
<p>His voice becoming more sombre, the Hat added, ‘<em>Speaking of which,</em> <em>I want to thank you for not only saving a fellow novice’s life but also putting that poor beast out of its misery. Whether from the many years of being below ground and isolated, or through Tom Riddle’s... </em>charms<em>, Salazar’s serpent had...’</em> there was a pause<em> ‘— well, </em>non compos mentis<a href="#_ftn1" id="_ftnref1" name="_ftnref1">[1]</a>... <em>As for that... </em><em>fragment of Mr Riddle’s past self...’ </em>There was a heavy sigh,<em> ‘for all his difficult and troubled youth, I never contemplated his journey would lead him down such a dark path...’</em></p>
<p>Unfortunately, that last remark comforted Harry little. Instead, it only reminded Harry of Riddle commenting on their several similarities.</p>
<p>
  <em>‘Tell me Mr Potter; Do you find yourself similar to Mr Riddle?’</em>
</p>
<p><em>‘I don’t think I’m like him! I mean, I’m — I’m in Gryffindor, I’m...’ </em>But the thought fell silent, a lurking doubt resurfacing in its place; the Sorting Hat himself had told Harry he’d have done well in Slytherin. And everyone had thought he was Slytherin’s heir because he could speak Parseltongue.</p>
<p><em>‘Mr Potter, you do realise that Salazar Slytherin lived a thousand years ago,’ </em>the Hat retorted dryly.</p>
<p>This only brought to mind Ron’s and Hermione’s reactions to him being able to speak to snakes, and the possibility of Harry being Slytherin’s great-great-great-great-grandson or something...</p>
<p>The Hat huffed, <em>‘Mr Potter, in a thousand years, the number of intermarriages and alliances..." He paused as if to collect his thoughts. “Between then and now, there have been quite a few generations of witches and wizards. Now, while I can’t say much regarding the ‘lines of succession’ and ‘heirs’ as it were, I will state that I wouldn’t be surprised if most of those within the walls of Hogwarts descend from at least one of the Four Founders, if not more.</em>’<a href="#_ftn2" id="_ftnref2" name="_ftnref2">[2]</a></p>
<p><em>‘But</em> I <em>can speak to snakes while no one else can</em>! <em>Riddle</em> <em>himself said we were probably the only two Parselmouths to come to Hogwarts since the</em> ‘great Slytherin himself’.</p>
<p>‘<em>For one, Tom Riddle was wrong--and not for the first time either; you were</em> not<em> the only two. And as for the ability of speaking to snakes, look at it with a different cap: it’s comparable to having your father’s unruly dark hair but your mother’s bright green eyes. Some such traits continue to make themselves known, while others stay hidden or don’t follow down a particular scion </em>— <em>that doesn’t mean there aren’t others who are just as likely to have Slytherin as an ancestor.’</em></p>
<p>Harry slouched in defeat. ‘<em>So I should have been in Slytherin</em>.’</p>
<p>The Hat let out a sigh of his own, ‘<em>Mr Potter</em> —Harry. <em>As I’ve previously stated: you </em>would <em>have done well in Salazar’s House. You happen to possess many of the qualities he prized. His own very rare gift, Parseltongue — resourcefulness — determination — a certain disregard for rules. Yet I did still place you in Gryffindor.</em>’</p>
<p>‘<em>Only because I asked,</em>’ Harry retorted mulishly.</p>
<p><em>‘Harry, when I sorted you over a year ago, I found you a very difficult wizard to place. You have a number of Salazar’s qualities just as you have several of Helga’s and Rowena’s — and </em>Godric’s. <em>One does not exclude the other; determination is just as much a trait shared by Salazar as it is by Godric. Just as you have plenty of courage — and if I may, a certain amount of what some might call daring and others</em> recklessness-- <em>one very similar to Godric’s own. And these traits that I found in you over a year ago seem to have</em> <em>only </em>increased<em>. I will also say that our choices define</em> who <em>we are just as much as any of our other actions -</em>... <em>In any case, a certain sword would not have appeared if you didn’t possess a modicum of all Godric valued-’</em></p>
<p><em>‘—the sword</em>!’ Harry had completely forgotten about it in the mad foray that was the events of the past day, but now that he remembered it was all that he could think of. <em>What had happened to the sword?</em></p>
<p><em>‘It makes no matter. One of its many enchantments make it so that those who don’t possess enough magic cannot hold it; a precaution just as much for the sword as for the unsuspecting mundane who tries to pick it up. Though, truth be told, I believe the goblins’ first intention was to find a way for no human to ever hold their creations. Fortunately for Godric — and yourself, either they never found a way to do so or they changed their minds about making such an enchantment effective against wixen</em><a href="#_ftn1" id="_ftnref1" name="_ftnref1">[3</a><a href="#_ftn1" id="_ftnref1" name="_ftnref1">]</a><a href="#_ftn1" id="_ftnref1" name="_ftnref1"></a>, <em>especially given that wizards - and humans in general - are rather prone to spending quite a bit of coin on things they do not necessarily need.’</em></p>
<p>
  <em>‘But where is it now?’ the panic within Harry only easing the smallest amount.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>‘Why, back in my brow.’</em>
</p>
<p>Harry blinked, ‘<em>back... back in your</em><em> brow?’</em></p>
<p>
  <em>‘Within my crown, yes. Before sorting the next generations of wixen I spent a number of years on the prime spot of Godric’s head. And let me tell you, Godric was quite the traveller; long distances that were more often than not filled with threats. - He wasn’t one to shy from danger, after all. Nor did he live in a peaceful era. But this also meant he was not one to journey encumbered. He travelled as light as possible, which basically boiled down to what he wore: the robes on his back and —well, myself, where his sword wouldn’t be in the way or intimidate the local populace... along with catching the occasional thugs off-guard.’</em>
</p>
<p>Harry blinked owlishly. The Sorting Hat had been Godric Gryffindor’s hat; Just as the sword had also been Gryffindor’s.</p>
<p>He barely heard the chuckle from the Hat as his ears started buzzing. Harry let out a pained groan; he was sure to be expelled now. Professor Dumbledore himself had warned him that he would be expelled if he broke any more school rules —and that was even before he had stolen Fawkes and the Hat —but now he had Gryffindor’s Hat and sword in some United States muggle flying military ship.</p>
<p>
  <em>‘Now - now Harry, no one is getting expelled. You didn’t steal anything; if anyone stole anything, it was Fawkes.’</em>
</p>
<p>The phoenix gave a twitter of indignation, but the Hat paid him no mind, <em>‘Nor is it our current issue; which happens to be more concerning than any possible purloining. —Harry, we seem to have found ourselves sitting on the wrong shelf, as it were.’</em></p>
<p>
  <em>‘Yeah,’ Harry agreed, eyes spanning across the whole of the room that was as dissimilar to Hogwarts as the Dursley’s house was, probably even more so. ‘Do you have any idea on how we can get back to Hogwarts — or at least let them know where we are?’</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>‘Ah - our situation might be a little more complicated than that Harry.’</em>
</p>
<p>Harry frowned, wary of what the Hat would say next.</p>
<p>
  <em>‘I believe Hogwarts is no longer accessible to us.’</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>‘What?’</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>‘That is to say, I don’t think we are in the same... dimension.’</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Harry’s frown only deepened in confusion.</em>
</p>
<p><em>‘Let me see if I can explain... Over the years there have been several beings - wixen, mundane, along with centaurs, goblins, merpeople and others - who believed our universe is not the only one. Instead there are a multitude of universes which comprise everything that exists: the entirety of space, time, matter, energy, information, and the physical laws and constants that describe them. The different universes within this ‘multiverse’ have been defined as "alternate universes", "quantum universes", "interpenetrating dimensions", "parallel universes", "parallel dimensions", "parallel worlds", "parallel realities", "quantum realities", "alternate realities", "alternate timelines", "alternate dimensions", "dimensional planes"<a href="#_ftn3" id="_ftnref3" name="_ftnref3">[4]</a>... t</em><em>he list goes on. The fact remains that whether there is an infinite or just a couple or several universes out there, I do believe we have just proved that there is at least more than </em> <em>one.’</em></p>
<p>Harry blinked owlishly; the buzzing in his ears had returned.<em> ‘... What?’</em></p>
<p><em>‘I am near certain that we are no longer in... </em> <em>our universe Harry, but have somehow been transported to another.’</em></p>
<p><em>‘W-what... H-how — where — how...’ </em>Harry’s earlier panic rose to a completely new level, even as he tried to calm himself and understand what the Hat was saying,<em> ‘— h-how...’</em></p>
<p>He took a deep breath and tried again,<em> ‘— how can you be sure?’</em></p>
<p>
  <em>‘For one, if Fawkes was able to locate Hogwarts, he would have brought us back as soon as the mundane director was looking the other way, as it were. Phoenix, Harry, have quite a talent in apparition; as long as there is enough magic at either end to do so and they can visualise or connect to their destination - usually from having been there before, but also through a being they have a certain level of affinity to (the more affinity, the more attuned they are) - they can apparate anywhere.’</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>‘So... Fawkes couldn’t... connect to Hogwarts?’</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>‘Nor could he locate Professor Dumbledore, or any other persons he has built any affinity to... apart from you, that is.’</em>
</p>
<p>Harry tried to ignore his cheeks warming at the assertion, instead concentrating on the Hat’s next remark,<em> ‘There is also the air.’</em></p>
<p>
  <em>‘The air?’</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>‘Aye, both Fawkes and myself find the air... stale.’</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>‘Stale?’</em>
</p>
<p><em>‘Magic, my dear boy: there is a lot less in the air. Granted I have spent most of the last nine-hundred or so years sequestered within the walls of Hogwarts, but even during Godric’s travels, I could feel its energy in the air; it </em>sung<em>.</em></p>
<p><em>‘As for Fawkes, he is a creature of</em> <em> magic: a main part of his being is searching for magic, migrating to where it is in abundance. And not just ‘landed’ magic, such as forests or structures, but ‘active’ magic: magical beings, other magical creatures. At this moment in time you are possibly one of the better sources of magic—’</em></p>
<p>Harry nearly choked, internally sputtering, ‘-<em>What?! Fawkes is feeding off my magic? — H-he’s stealing my magic?’</em></p>
<p>
  <em>‘No - no - no - Harry... While Fawkes and yourself both have magic - both of you create magic from inside you - Fawkes’ magic works differently to yours... the best I can describe it is that it’s like breathing.’</em>
</p>
<p><em>‘Breathing</em><em>?’ </em>Harry asked, still very much sceptical, even wary of Fawkes; even as the bird cooed to try and reassure him.</p>
<p><em>‘Yes, </em> <em>breathing: both fauna and flora breathe - need air to live. Yet, when plants breathe they use a different component of the surrounding air than beings. In fact, what they ‘exhale’ is what you ‘inhale’. It is  the same with magic, what you ‘exhale’, phoenix — and other magical creatures ‘inhale’ ... just as you ‘inhale’ what they ‘exhale’. Incidentally, this is why you don’t tend to find many phoenix, unicorns, dragons or the like in the more mundane parts of our world...’</em></p>
<p>
  <em>‘Oh... right,’ Harry mumbled, suddenly feeling very foolish. Embarrassed, he looked down at the phoenix and murmured an apology, “I’m sorry to have accused you of... stealing my magic Fawkes.”</em>
</p>
<p><em>Fawkes crooned in reassurance, head nudging Harry’s hand, for him to start running his hand through his feathers, all while the Hat added, ‘In truth, if we want to more accurate, magic is actually three-fold: purely magical creatures ‘inhale’ what magical beings and magical plants ‘exhale’, just as beings ‘inhale’ what creatures and plants ‘exhale’, and magical plants ‘inhale’ what both Fawkes and yourself ‘exhale’</em>.<a href="#_ftn4" id="_ftnref4" name="_ftnref4">[5]</a> <em>Which is all the more reason to confirm that this world is stale compared to our own. The air here is all but stagnant from any magic, meaning that Fawkes is unable to explore this unknown world without fear of not finding a sufficient source of magic further away.</em><em>’ </em></p>
<p>Dread pooled through Harry once more, ‘<em>you mean there is no magic at all?</em>’</p>
<p>‘<em>Not quite. For one, the personage who followed you into this world definitely had magic. Given his subsequence conversation, along with mutual recognition between this mundane organisation and the individual, we can infer that either he is of another dimension who has travelled to this one previously (to which, I very much doubt he came from the same as us), or - more likely - he is from a different part of this same universe, where magic is in higher abundance.</em>’</p>
<p>The remark made Harry think of the ‘tessarack’.</p>
<p>‘<em>Just so Harry; this ‘tesseract’ definitely holds magic, and quite a hefty amount of it at that. In fact, I believe it is - intentionally or not - the reason we have found ourselves in this universe.</em>’</p>
<p>‘<em>Really?</em>’ Harry questioned as he thought about the manner of <em>Loki</em>'s arrival.</p>
<p>‘<em>Indeed. It seems to act similarly to that of vanishing cabinets.</em>’</p>
<p>‘<em>Vanishing cabinets?</em>’</p>
<p>‘<em>A pair of vanishing cabinets enables passage between the two places in which they are situated: if an object is placed in one, it will appear in the other. This ‘tesseract’ seems to be a gateway linking at worst, two universes, or, at best, two parts of the same universe... My main theory at this point in time is that, on one or both sides, the individuals were playing with powers that they had little understanding of and something went wrong...</em>’</p>
<p>‘<em>So... we need to find this</em> <em>tesseract and it should bring us back?’</em></p>
<p>
  <em>‘Not quite. While finding it would prove greatly beneficial, it doesn’t change that neither Fawkes, nor you nor I have seen the like before. Just as we have next to no knowledge of how it works or its dangers, which are, as I previously stated, more than likely the reason we have found ourselves in this situation. The best I could do would be to compare it to other modes of magical transportation and ways of linking two places together. But that would only be a small, if any, part of the answer...</em>
</p>
<p><em>‘But do not despair’ </em>- the Hat just as quickly added, obviously sensing Harry’s growing worries,<em> ‘We do already have a lead of sorts in this ‘SHIELD’ — more than likely in what not to do, in truth. Still, while they had been clearly delving into matters beyond their comprehension or capacities, they were using it and its magic to an extent. At the very least, they appear to have done a basic preliminary study of it.</em></p>
<p><em>‘We also have a lead in this individual identifying himself as ‘</em>Loki of Asgard<em>’. Not only does </em>he<em> have magic, but he seemed to at least have a better understanding of the tesseract in comparison to the mundane. That, and the mention of another ‘Asgardian’ and ‘Asgard’ hints at a whole population of beings who hopefully would also have more information to impart to us.’</em></p>
<p>There was a brief pause, as if to allow all of what the Hat had said to sink in, ‘<em>... And we might also have a third lead...’</em></p>
<p>
  <em>‘Another lead?’</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>‘Aye, a spectre.’</em>
</p>
<p>Harry blinked several times, ‘<em>A spectre?’</em></p>
<p>
  <em>‘The spectre of a woman - a witch most likely - dressed in a peculiar set of golden-coloured robes, appeared through the wall while you were sleeping.’</em>
</p>
<p><em>‘Like a ghost?</em>’</p>
<p>‘<em>No. Neither Fawkes nor I have come across something of the like before... In all honesty, the closest comparison I can link it to would be Tom Riddle’s spectral form in the chamber.</em>’</p>
<p>‘<em>What?!</em>’ Harry’s heart jolted against his rib cage, ‘<em>Why didn’t you warn me before?</em>’</p>
<p>‘<em>Now now, Harry. While similar to that of Riddle’s shadow, neither Fawkes nor I sensed the same level of malevolent intent surrounding this spectre. Rest assured, had either Fawkes or I thought you in any danger we would have alerted you, along with taking every possible step to protect you (and ourselves).</em>’</p>
<p>Harry gave a sigh, reassured.</p>
<p>Yet, the Hat having seen a spectre of another magical person didn’t give them any more of a clue as to what to do next. It wasn’t like the spectre was here now. <em>Unless</em> — should they go search for this ‘spectre’... or even ‘Loki’ or possibly ‘Thor’?</p>
<p>‘<em>Not exactly. First, we don’t really have any hint as to where to start looking for any of these three personages. I also wouldn’t recommend trying to leave this... vessel. After all, we don’t want to do anything that would bring even more attention to ourselves and make us appear all the more like possible suspects than we already seem, especially without a proper ‘exit’ strategy. — Not to mention, SHIELD is already searching both for Loki and the tesseract. With any luck both will come to us without any of us having to do much of anything. As for the spectre, it would be best to wait... Perhaps she will also make a reappearance.</em>’</p>
<p>‘<em>So </em>what <em>do</em> <em>we do</em> <em>then</em>?’</p>
<p>
  <em>‘Why, I thought it obvious Harry: gather information.’</em>
</p>
<p><em>‘Gather information</em>?’</p>
<p><em>‘Just so: </em>information<em>. After an initial assessment of this version of ‘Earth’, both Fawkes and I find that it appears to be quite similar to our own; the various species - languages - general way of interactions and speech patterns - even similar governance - geography - general History... why, they have even named it ‘Earth’. Even yourself support this appraisal given that you hadn’t yet realised we were not in our own dimension.</em></p>
<p>‘<em>However, a few things have stood out as possible distinctions: first, as previously stated,</em> magic: <em>there is a lot less of it. This in and of itself can lead to quite a number of subsequent differences: little to no magic infers it is less likely for magical creatures or beings to exist - less likely for a magical community to have developed and set in place a great number of ways to either rule over the rest or conceal themselves from the rest... the dominoes fall one after the other...</em></p>
<p>‘<em>Which incidentally leads me to my second point; whether a direct correlation or not to the lack of magic, mundane inventions and technology appear to be far more developed here than on our own Earth’s. Just as knowledge and innovation tends to lead to the advancement of a society, it also creates - directly or indirectly - a more advanced form of possible dangers that didn’t previously exist. While it wouldn’t do to believe ourselves targeted or even in danger straight off the get-go, there is value to err on the side of caution and gain a better understanding of what these technological advancements mean for us. Thirdly: other worlds.</em>’</p>
<p>‘<em>Other worlds?</em>’</p>
<p>‘<em>From the presence of ‘Loki’ and the mention of his brother ‘Thor’ we can more than suppose the possibility of other worlds in addition to this Earth within this universe. And visitors from outside of the planet having previously come at least once hints at it having happened more than once... In fact it wouldn’t surprise me if this ‘tesseract’ is from another world and somehow found its way on Earth — and SHIELD being aware of this.</em>’</p>
<p><em>‘What? - H-how so?</em>’</p>
<p>‘<em>Firstly, this SHIELD identifies as a secret government agency of sorts. Magical or mundane, they are not known for oversharing, Harry. If anything, they tend to try and get others to talk all while keeping their own thoughts and dealings hidden. That, and just like a Headmaster in a school, a certain level of control tends to be one of their go-to prerequisites.</em></p>
<p>‘<em>Secondly, just as Fawkes is quite good at evaluating one’s general disposition, I have been in over forty-thousand different minds, with the sole purpose of identifying which House they would be best suited for. Now, I haven’t seen inside the minds of these mundane, but I have become rather proficient at reading people. Not to mention, I’ve done more than my fair share of sitting around, silently listening in as others speak. — Salazar once stated he had never been prouder to call Godric his friend than when Godric had used me to listen in on a conversation between a number of marauders that had been creating problems in the surrounding land...</em> Though<em>, if anything, that made Godric less inclined to use me for such methods. — But that’s neither here nor there.</em></p>
<p><em>‘What I am getting at is that while their intent doesn’t seem to be malicious - far from it - they have definitely been holding back. Before your commendable speech on Norse mythology, Agent Coulson had his own tale of meeting with the ‘Asgardian’, ‘Thor’. — Yet I don’t believe that this ‘Thor’ was the first time Mr Coulson came across a being</em> ‘out of this world’. <em>Now, I am certain Mr Coulson didn’t share all of what happened during the meeting; a great many parts of it. Even so, his recounting did make for an odd ‘first contact’ response to finding out Earth is not alone. — </em>Still<em>, in truth, this remark only comes about after I noticed the differences between our Earth and this one, along with several other noteworthy tidbits I picked up on</em>.’</p>
<p>‘<em>Oh?</em>’</p>
<p>‘<em>During your conversation with the rather taciturn Director Fury, he brought up several terms I had yet to come across. Now, I will be the first to say that I am far from all knowing. I do on occasion come across words or phrases I have never heard of before; Why just this year, a delightfully inquisitive first year’s mind was filled with creatures I had never encountered or been mentioned to me... And yet, more often than not, I am able to hit upon a ‘base’ of sorts from which I am able to correlate these new terms to. Even with this young witch and her creatures: some had similarities with other beasts I hadn’t heard of for a number of years, while others while completely unknown to me, the manner in which they had come to her could be explained by her own personal experiences. Just as ‘Loki’, ‘Thor’, ‘Asgard’ more than hint at a similar set of Histories, stories, and legends to our own. — On the other hand, never have I ever come across anything that could give me an idea as to what a ‘Skrull’, ‘Kree’, ‘Hala’, ‘Torfa’ or ‘Flerken’ are.’</em></p>
<p>Harry blinked. Given that he didn’t recognise any of these words, it was clear he didn’t remember when Director Fury had brought them up.</p>
<p>‘<em>Now, one could overlook this (as I said, I am far from all knowing)... if not for the fact that several of these terms were then mentioned a second time by the more affable Agent Coulson not only a short time later, but with both conversations being your first and only true interaction with either. Once might be a... fluke, but two mentions within such a short amount of time, and it becomes a lot less so... Especially when you think of them in the context in which they were brought up; a conversation about yourself and Fawkes - both of you being two unknowns to SHIELD - and then a conversation centred on Loki, Thor, and Asgard - the only two identified ‘aliens’ and their ‘world of origin.</em>’</p>
<p>‘<em>So... you think these... ‘Kree’, ‘Hala’, ‘Torfa’, ‘Flerken’ are... hints to other worlds or people SHIELD has already come into contact with?</em>’</p>
<p>‘Aye. <em>If they are, it wouldn’t be all that surprising for this agency to attempt to verify if</em> you - <em>an unknown integer - had previously come across them, in order to give them, at the very least, a base to either put you in or against</em>. <em>— I do also wonder how long they’ve had this ‘tesseract’ for...</em>’</p>
<p>After a moment of reflection, Harry gave a nod of acceptance. ‘<em>So... gathering information.</em>’</p>
<p>‘<em>Indeed Harry. Though, might I suggest a change of attire into something more... fitting?</em>’</p>
<p>Harry blinked, ‘<em>change?</em>’ He glanced at his still ruined robes lying in tatters on the table, ‘-<em>into what?</em>’</p>
<p>Both hat and phoenix gave a chuckle, ‘<em>You don’t think the only thing Godric made me carry was his sword, now do you?</em>’</p>
<p>‘<em>W-what do you mean?</em>’</p>
<p>‘<em>You could say that I am the ultimate</em> ‘magician’s hat’<em>... and while, </em>no <em>- before you ask - I do not have a white bunny in here, what I </em>do <em>have is a number of robes and other useful necessities for the travelling wixen-adventurer that Godric undoubtedly was. I’m certain you’ll be able to find something that will meet your approval.... Just as I suggest you also put your ruined robes - along with your father’s remarkable cloak inside my crown. It is more than likely the safest place for them right now</em>.’</p>
<p>Harry was then caught off guard as a number of old-fashioned robes appeared, scrolling one after the other, in his mind.</p>
<p>It took him a moment to look through them, one at a time... He frowned; there was a problem with the hat’s suggestion, ‘<em>these are adult robes; there’s no way any of these are going to fit me.</em>’</p>
<p>‘<em>Oh, that’s nothing to worry about,</em>’ the hat chortled, ‘<em>after one too many times of being spelled or poisoned larger or smaller than he was, Godric made sure to add a number of charms on all his clothes - with the assistance of Rowena, I believe. In fact, I have these same enchantments, which have proven rather useful when being worn by a number of students varying in head heights and widths.</em>’</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It took quite a fair bit of time - more than Harry cared for spending on clothes - but in the end he had to concede that the outfit that had ultimately come out of the Hat was far better than the oversized muggle shirt and loose trousers SHIELD had lent him, even if slightly frayed at the edges. An inner knee-length tunic, leggings and stockings spun from acromantula thread (apparently lighter yet tougher than the usual doxy thread used by wizards), robes and boots made from a graphorn Godric Gryffindor had come across (been attacked by) while travelling across the mountain regions of Europe (according to the Hat, their hide was even tougher than that of a dragon and repelled most spells). While the Sorting Hat thought he didn’t need an outer cloak just yet, he did bring out a wand holster for Harry to attach to his arm, placing his wand within. <em>— </em> <em>Oh</em>, and a bag containing lemon drops which apparently Fawkes had a weakness for (proved true by how he went straight for them, pecking at the pouch, when they appeared). He had also placed his Hogwarts uniform and invisibility cloak inside the Hat as suggested.</p>
<p>All in all, Harry actually felt like a proper wizard again by the end of the whole process.</p>
<p>And, yet...</p>
<p>He was stumped as to what to do next.</p>
<p>‘<em>Why don’t we go leave this room and explore?</em>’</p>
<p>‘<em>But — won’t we get in trouble; aren’t we supposed to stay in here?</em>’</p>
<p>‘<em>Has that ever stopped you before?</em>’ the hat countered dryly, ‘<em>Besides, no one said we</em> couldn’t <em>leave the room. I say best to do as novices in such a situation.’</em></p>
<p>‘<em>What’s that?</em>’</p>
<p>‘<em>Ask for forgiveness afterwards.</em>’</p>
<p>Harry suppressed a smile, instead focusing on the issue, ‘<em>But isn’t the door locked... and won’t they come as soon as we try to open it?</em>’</p>
<p>‘<em>Surely a simple mundane door is no match for a budding wizard who just recently opened a centuries-hidden chamber and fought a nine-hundred year old basilisk</em>?’</p>
<p>Harry felt his cheeks warm.</p>
<p>‘<em>In any case, I do believe Agent Coulson left the door unlocked after he left. We could wonder if it was done on purpose, of course; Whether this is SHIELD putting a level of trust in you... or to see what you would do. But the endeavour would be rather pointless in my opinion. Besides, I will let you in on a few of my other many ‘charms’... Along with ‘uniting’ myself to my wearer - that is to say, none can remove me from his brow without his consent - I also have a basic concealment charm</em>.’</p>
<p>Harry's eyes widened, ‘<em>Like with the Leaky Cauldron’s entrance?</em>’</p>
<p>‘<em>Not exactly. While that particular pub becomes all but invisible to those with no magic, the enchantment placed on myself isn’t as strong; my wearer and myself rather fade in the background, becoming a person of little consequence: unassuming as he is forgettable... until he goes to do something that would break the ‘spell’ that is. If he brings attention to himself - does something that would normally bring attention to one’s self, the enchantment breaks and takes some time to re-work its magic.</em>’</p>
<p>‘<em>Blimey.</em>’ Harry wished he had the hat during the year, when he had been accused of being the <em>Heir of Slytherin</em>.</p>
<p>The Hat gave a chuckle, ‘<em>the charm doesn’t work as well on those who </em>do <em>have magic Harry</em>.’</p>
<p>Harry gave a small grumble, as he moved to the door.</p>
<p>‘<em>Now why don’t we go off and see what this mundane carrier has to offer</em>.’</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <strong>=</strong>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p><a href="#_ftnref1" id="_ftn1" name="_ftn1">[1]</a> Non compos mentis is a Latin legal phrase that translates to "of unsound mind": nōn ("not") prefaces compos mentis, meaning "having control of one's mind". <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non_compos_mentis">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non_compos_mentis</a></p>
<p><a href="#_ftnref2" id="_ftn2" name="_ftn2">[2]</a> Ok; I <em>have</em> read my fair share of fics where Harry is Slytherin’s descendant/heir or Gryffindor’s or something or another, and I have enjoyed a great part of them - especially when it actually makes sense and there is a reason behind making him the heir...</p>
<p>That being said, having a <span class="u">very</span> <span class="u">basic</span> understanding of genetics, and mainly having read articles like these ones (<a href="https://www.nature.com/news/most-europeans-share-recent-ancestors-1.12950">https://www.nature.com/news/most-europeans-share-recent-ancestors-1.12950</a> ; <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/commentisfree/2015/may/24/business-genetic-ancestry-charlemagne-adam-rutherford">https://www.theguardian.com/science/commentisfree/2015/may/24/business-genetic-ancestry-charlemagne-adam-rutherford</a>  ; <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/phenomena/2013/05/07/charlemagnes-dna-and-our-universal-royalty/">https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/phenomena/2013/05/07/charlemagnes-dna-and-our-universal-royalty/</a> );   I’m more of the mind that Harry and basically all of the British/Europe based wizards in wizarding Britain have one if not more than one/all of the Founders as an ancestor; making the idea of being one of their descendents all that less special, but rather a common thing that they all share...</p>
<p>I actually quite like the idea/possibility that the Gaunts/Riddle, in terms of ‘lines of succession’ and all that, aren’t technically Slytherin’s heir(s) but from an ‘off-shoot’ line from the last child of the last child or something or another... or the idea that Malfoys are descendants of Hufflepuff... or that Dumbledore and/or the Weasleys have Slytherin as an ancestor.</p>
<p><a href="#_ftnref1" id="_ftn1" name="_ftn1">[3]</a> Wixen: a gender neutral alternative to witches or wizards. The singular form is wix.</p>
<p><a href="#_ftnref3" id="_ftn3" name="_ftn3">[4]</a> Some of the text taken from: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiverse">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiverse</a></p>
<p><a href="#_ftnref4" id="_ftn4" name="_ftn4">[5]</a> Ok - the whole magical theory I sprouted about phoenix is completely made-up and no, it isn’t super important to the plot, but it does give a certain added explanation as to why Fawkes is all more intent to stick to Harry (and help him) along with being more prone to recognising Harry’s magic (it becoming a beacon of sorts for Fawkes). Plus, I also liked to give a reason why the MCU-Earth doesn’t have any ‘magical creatures’ (or why magical creatures are less likely to find themselves in muggle areas), along with the idea that there is a way in which phoenix could actually potentially die...</p>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Ok...so... the Hat: I really hope he came out alright; I really don’t want him all-knowing/all-powerful (after all he is just a hat) still, I did want to ‘play-around’ with the idea of a ‘magician’s hat’/a ‘wizard’s hat’ which in both cases the hat has usually been quite a big part of their whole ‘assemble’<br/>But yeah, as I had him tell Harry, given that he’s to look through a whole person’s personality in a matter seconds (not to mention I can so see Headmasters using him for various ‘spying’/having conversations with him - P-N Black for one totally used him to his advantage... as well as Dumbles), I don’t think it’s a stretch to say he has the capacity filter through and assess all he hears - even ‘background’ sounds and conversations he might have heard from their first arrival in the SHIELD compound - to in the helicopter while Fury talked to a great many people - along with the pilots contacts with the Helicarrier and what not - too when they arrived/walked through the Helicarrier itself...<br/>Hope you all didn't find him ‘too much of an easy solution’ as it were...</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Harry meets his first Avengers... And the Avengers continue to meet each other for the first time.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>First: Thank you so much to Adrian King1 (on FF) for having a read-through this chapter and for all your suggestions/corrections. </p><p>With regards to the complaints of the last chapter just being an exposition/info-dump chapter; apologies. Fingers crossed it should be the only chapter with so much info-dump - especially one with so little of anything else to compensate... Hope you were still able to enjoy some of it.</p><p>As for the few readers who had reservations or plain did not like the portrayal of the Sorting Hat; sorry you feel that way. My main idea for it was it being in line to what the Headmaster portraits are; both magical objects who ‘developed’/‘evolved’ with more time spent with their ‘wearer’/‘subject’ (GG even more so given that he wore the Hat everyday). (The storing of the clothes was actually his first intended use (other than just a hat to wear) for GG to add to it...)<br/>I also feel that all magical objects gain a certain level of sentience, especially when charms/enchantments are added to them (think not only GG would have added a few but the other founders as well, especially when it became the Sorting Hat), not to mention being continually surrounded by magic (ie Mr Weasley + the Ford A for it to then ‘live’ in the Forest)<br/>But yeah, the other main reason is that I do feel that a 12/13 yr old Harry does need some support from something(s)someone(s) he already trusts... Hope my portrayal of the Hat hasn’t put you off the rest of the story.</p><p>Thank you all so much for the comments/support/kudos/kind words you have already given me with regards to this story. And I can only hope you all approve in the direction it continues.</p><p>Some parts of the text in this chapter have been taken from The Avengers (2012) film</p><p>-</p><p>"Normal speech."</p><p> <br/><em>Thoughts.</em></p><p> </p><p>  <em>'Hat talking in Harry's mind.'</em></p><p> </p><p>{"<em>Intercom.</em>"}<br/>-</p><p>11/11/2020 Minor edits to the text. Thank you so much to <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/rosaamarilla/pseuds/rosaamarilla">rosaamarilla</a> (Ao3) for an amazing read through</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>
  <strong>CHAPTER 4</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>-</p><p> </p><p></p><blockquote>
  <p>‘<em>The stranger was wearing an extremely shabby set of wizard’s robes that had been darned in several places. He looked ill and exhausted. Though quite young, his light brown hair was flecked with gray.</em>’ - Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban</p>
</blockquote><p> </p><p>-</p><p> </p><p>In the ‘clear light of day’ (though really, it was already well into the afternoon) and with Harry rested and more aware, the (flying) ship’s very monotonous look was all the more obvious; off-gray floors, darker grey walls and (low) ceilings. He could be convinced he was in one of those old films Dudley refused to watch on the simple fact that they were in black-and-white. Even the few people they passed were either in completely black uniforms, or the very occasional dark blue (the only true touch of colour), which even then could be mistaken for black at first glance.</p><p><em>Merlin</em>, Director Fury’s stiff-looking, all-black outfit was as far from Professor Dumbledore’s stately, ever-swishing and sparkling robes as humanly (magically) possible. Harry wouldn’t be surprised if the muggle director had been the one to pick out the colour scheme.</p><p>This, if nothing else, proved that the Hat’s concealment charms worked; while Hat and Harry were both a mix of browns, greys, and blacks, Fawkes and his resplendent gold and red plumage stuck out like a sore thumb. Juxtaposed to the monotone walls, the phoenix was a constant reminder of Hogwarts, its lively magic and all that was now out of reach. And yet they never received more than a passing glance.</p><p>Not that there were many people roaming through the hallways. They passed far more doors - more often than not, thick doors labelled ‘Secure Storage’ with accompanying numbers and letters written beside them.</p><p>Still, Harry figured that if anyone did stop them, he could say they were searching for the cafeteria Agent Coulson had mentioned (hopefully without getting the agent in trouble). Given the rather maze-like configuration of the place, surely it wouldn’t be that much of a stretch to believe they had just gotten lost while searching for it. (On the other hand, Harry thought it best not to push their luck by trying to open any of the ‘storage’ doors. Hat and phoenix both agreed that such an action would more than likely bring unwanted attention to them. The most that they did was take brief looks through each of the doors’ small windows; all showcased large rooms filled with rows upon rows of shelves full of boxes, there were even boxes strewn across the floor and stacked on top of each other.</p><p>This monotony of the usual decor was in sharp contrast to the latest room that they had come across while meandering the halls. A laboratory of some kind, it resembled the underground one in which Harry had first landed into, yet a lot brighter. —<em> Circe</em>, the large window behind the sole occupant gave an impressive view of not only a large part of the flying ship but of the sky and clouds below them. If Harry had to guess, this was the main laboratory of the ship.</p><p>Heck, even the man inside stood out. He wasn’t wearing the usual dark SHIELD uniform, or one of the white coats that the muggle scientists in the secret base had been. Instead he had on a crumpled purple shirt that would have had Aunt Petunia pursing her lips. (Uncle Vernon would have grumbled more at the unusual choice of colour along with the missing tie and jacket.) In fact, quite a bit of the man would have had Aunt Petunia pursing her lips: shaggy hair that clearly hadn’t been cut in a while (nearing Harry’s own messy hair), shirt and trousers not only in dire need of ironing but also a wash, the ragged look was complete with the marks of exhaustion on his face, as if he hadn’t had a decent sleep in a while.</p><p>Still, whoever he was, the man had to be important in order to be working in this large shiny laboratory, filled with all this expensive looking equipment —</p><p>The man who was looking straight at him.</p><p>Harry blinked.</p><p>The man blinked; his eyes definitely wandering from Harry - to Fawkes - back to Harry — to Fawkes... To look past Harry to the rest of the hallway, as if expecting someone to suddenly appear and guide Harry away...</p><p>
  <em>‘It seems our friend here can see through a basic cloaking spell.’</em>
</p><p>
  <em>‘What should we do?’</em>
</p><p>
  <em>‘Why don’t you go inside and introduce yourself - this could prove interesting if nothing else.’</em>
</p><p>The door slid open as Harry took the remaining steps into the threshold of the room;</p><p>Throat suddenly dry, Harry forced himself to speak, “H-hello...”</p><p>“H-hi,” the man returned, all while removing his glasses, twisting them in his hands, “Does... does Director Fury know you are here?”</p><p>Harry quickly nodded, “Yes.” — After all, Director Fury and the other SHIELD agents knew that Harry was on the ship... though not necessarily right there. The Hat chuckled, while Fawkes trilled on his shoulder.</p><p>The man blinked again, eyes drifting over to Fawkes before turning sceptical as they returned to Harry — to then wander back out into the deserted hallway.</p><p>“You think I could have moved around this ship without people noticing?” Harry pointed out, to quickly add, “If I wasn’t supposed to be here, surely someone would have come by now?”</p><p>The man looked back at him, eyes still wary, “Did Agent Romanoff send you...?”</p><p>Harry shook his head, “I don’t know who Agent Romanov is; never met them...”</p><p>The name for one didn’t sound American, Russian if anything. Uncle Vernon had definitely had a lot to say about the Russians, even more than for the Americans. ‘<em>At least Americans speak English</em>’ (or ‘<em>a garbled version of the Queen’s English</em>’) and had ‘<em>some decent ideas about how to run a business properly</em>’.<a href="#_ftn1" id="_ftnref1" name="_ftnref1">[1]</a></p><p>‘<em>Indeed, my guess would also be Russian</em>,’ the Hat agreed. <em>‘Or of Russian descent </em>— <em>and male given the absence of an ‘a’ at the end of their name</em>.<a href="#_ftn2" id="_ftnref2" name="_ftnref2">[2]</a>...<em> Though ‘Romanov’ hints more to an imperial Russia than the communist one your uncle criticised</em>.’</p><p>The man gave him a small nod. Though from the look on his face, he didn’t seem to believe Harry.</p><p>Harry angled his head to get a better look at the inside of the laboratory now that the door no longer blocked his view. He started to wonder about the best way to ask if he could come in — when Fawkes left his shoulder, swooping into the room, to settle on one of the railings attached to the backs of most of the tables. —</p><p>The man instinctively tensed as the bird brushed past him, his gaze tracking Fawkes’s every sudden move before once again shifting suspiciously between the phoenix and Harry.</p><p>Harry was quick to reassure him, “Oh, don’t worry about Fawkes; he’s friendly and really intelligent. I promise he won’t damage anything,” all while entering the laboratory himself and scampering over to where the phoenix was. Fawkes let out a series of small thrills, as if to confirm the statement.</p><p>Reaching him, Harry began trailing his fingers through Fawkes’ feathers, in part to prove how affable he was.</p><p>Still rather wound-up, the man raised an eyebrow, “<em>Fawkes</em>?”</p><p>Harry gave a nod, “yeah... and I’m — Salazar Slytherin.”</p><p>“Doctor Bruce Banner.” The answer sounded more like an automatic statement of fact rather than a freely given reply.</p><p>“Doctor? Like a medical doctor?” Harry’s brows creased slightly as he looked round the room; Nothing looking very ‘medical’ here.</p><p>“Not that kind of doctor. I’m a physicist; a specialist in nuclear physics.”</p><p>Uncertain on what ‘nuclear’ physics was, Harry asked, “does SHIELD work a lot with nuclear physicists?”</p><p>“Maybe — probably...” Dr Banner shrugged uncomfortably, before continuing with more surety, “but I don’t work for them; I’m only here to help them find something and then I’m going back to...” the sentence trailed off as he looked back down at the table in front of him.</p><p>“<em>Oh</em>, you’re here to help find the Tesseract?”</p><p>Dr Banner’s head snapped back up, mouth open, “<em>Uh</em>, yeah.”</p><p>“How are you supposed to help find it?”</p><p>“Well...” the doctor shifted, clearly troubled about something, “I’m... I’m an expert in gamma radiation; No one knows it like I do” he added in a sarcastic tone, as if repeating someone else’s words. His shoulders slumped, “... the Tesseract emits small amounts of if, from which it can hopefully be found.”</p><p>“Oh, right. — What’s ‘gamma radiation’?” Harry couldn’t help but ask. “No offence, but the ‘radiation’ part doesn’t sound very reassuring.”</p><p>Dr Banner shifted again, his jaw ticking, before he gave a nod, “Yeah, it can be dangerous, if it’s not handled properly. Thankfully, the Tesseract only emits small amounts that should be harmless... Though that does make finding it more difficult...”</p><p>From there, Doctor Banner attempted to explain gamma radiation to Harry (and the Hat) - along with nuclear physics - in the most basic terms he was able to describe.</p><p>He even went on to show Harry the various ‘Gamma-ray detectors’ he had been working with when Fawkes and Harry had passed by the laboratory. Apparently, they all had to be ‘recalibrated’ to a specific ‘tracking algorithm’ for ‘basic cluster recognition’. — An algorithm which was currently running on the very sleek futuristic looking computer screens.</p><p>The Hat was definitely right about the technology being more advanced. The computers, being the only thing that Harry somewhat recognised, were so far from the box-shaped machine Dudley had received for his eleventh birthday; Harry still remembered Uncle Vernon boasting it being ‘<em>top of the line</em>’, ‘<em>newest model out there</em>’.<a href="#_ftn3" id="_ftnref3" name="_ftnref3">[3]</a></p><p> </p><p>Doctor Banner was just checking the calibration of the detector consisting of a long tube, hovering metal ball and a golden disk type thing, Harry watching quietly nearby, when the sound of heavy footsteps had them both looking to the hallway parallel to the one Harry had come from.</p><p>A group of agent-soldiers appeared —</p><p>Harry’s heart gave a jolt; ‘Loki of Asgard’ was in the centre of the huddle. He easily stood out from the rest not only by being the only one whose face you could actually see, but also because of the sharp contrast of his black-and-green outfit and gold-and-silver ornamentation against the solid black uniforms. That and he was the only one not holding a muggle gun. His arms were instead pulled behind his back, clearly handcuffed together.</p><p>Captive he may be, when he saw Doctor Banner, he smiled. It wasn’t a pleasant smile, but rather the cruel, mocking sort; similar to the one Mr Malfoy had worn when confronting Mr Weasley in Flourish and Blotts. Actually, ‘Loki’ seemed to have a rather similar pointed face to Mr Malfoy. (Just as Harry was pretty sure Mr Malfoy wouldn’t have minded wearing robes similar to those ‘Loki’ was wearing. They <em>were</em> Slytherin colours after all.)</p><p>— His eyes met Harry’s, and the feral smirk disappeared just as quickly as it had appeared. For the second time when facing Harry, he frowned; his face contorted into that of confusion, and his eyes flicked between Fawkes and Harry —</p><p>And then he was gone.</p><p>The swarm of black soldiers guided him past the laboratory, further down the hallway.</p><p>Harry let go of the breath he hadn’t realised he had been holding.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>-</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>Bruce took another deep breath, pressing his thumb to his temples.</p><p>He could do this.</p><p>Everything was fine.</p><p>Another breath.</p><p>Still, it was hard to ignore how much had happened in the last 24 hours; from Calcutta to — <em>here</em> — to working with gamma radiation once more.</p><p><em>Hell</em>; he hadn’t even been given the time to properly change; just his shirt during the plane ride.</p><p>He missed clean clothes.</p><p>He <em>missed</em> sleeping long hours on end with not a care in the world...</p><p><em>Frickin’ Hell,</em> he was so tired.</p><p>Hopefully SHIELD would be able to... — <em>extract </em>the location of the Tesseract from this ‘Loki’ guy, and he would be able to leave, no muss, no fuss — no <em>incidents</em>.</p><p>... <em>Yeah right</em>.</p><p>Still, as odd (<em>definitely odd</em>) as the kid, ‘Salazar’, and his bird were, explaining basic nuclear physics to him had actually been grounding or maybe — dare he say it, <em>nice</em>. It had been so long  since he could just speak about physics and the work he missed...</p><p>Not that Bruce had gotten over the whole ‘there’s a kid and his tropical bird somehow roaming about in a secret, government military agency’s airship’... </p><p>The oddest part though, as peculiar as they were; the kid looking like he had just come from Comic-Con, the bird — <em>well</em>, the bird being some kind of <em>bright</em>, <em>tropical</em> <em>bird</em> (though even in Latin America or India, Bruce was certain he had never seen a bird like it), he nearly hadn’t noticed them.</p><p>In fact, for a mad moment, Bruce was convinced he <em>wouldn’t</em> have noticed them, staring into the lab - staring at him - if it hadn’t been for the <em>other guy</em>.</p><p>At least, the other guy didn’t seem to mind them, as he tended to with literally <em>everyone</em>. Or <em>really</em>, he didn’t seem to mind the bird —</p><p><em>...</em> Bruce blinked, lifting his head from the spectrometer to the bird; was it <em>singing</em>?</p><p>The bird was indeed singing; the music low enough as to not disturb. There was a certain ethereal quality to it; <em>peaceful</em>. Bruce had definitely never heard any bird sing like <em>that</em>...</p><p>He let out another breath, staring into bright, unblinking dark eyes - another breath longer than the last - his body easing... becoming less... His eyes closed for a moment —</p><p>The door let out a soft swoosh, Bruce’s eyes snapping open just in time to see Agent Romanoff stepping into the lab.</p><p><em>Wonderful</em>.</p><p>Her gaze went first to the bird, to then go to the kid, who was staring straight back at her in obvious interest, along with a certain amount of wariness. </p><p>“у вас есть прекрасная птица.”<a href="#_ftn4" id="_ftnref4" name="_ftnref4">[4]</a></p><p>Bruce blinked owlishly —to flinch as the bird ‘Fawkes’, puffed up, giving several happy trills. Only then did he realise Romanoff had spoken to Salazar, not him, wearing the same welcoming smile she had worn in Calcutta.</p><p>Whatever the agent had said, Salazar answered in English (possibly for his benefit?), “Umm, T-thank you.”</p><p>Bruce waited a beat; yet Agent Romanoff only gave Salazar another smile before she turned her attention to him.</p><p>“Doctor, Director Fury would like you to join us on the bridge,” the request came complete with that same small friendly smile as if to disguise what they both knew it was: a command.</p><p>Bruce took a small breath, all while giving her a stiff-looking smile of his own.</p><p>He could do this.</p><p>Everything was fine.</p><p>— The other guy disagreed. He definitely didn’t like the idea of leaving the bird. With every second and every step that Bruce took closer to the bridge and further from the lab, it didn’t take long for the restlessness to stir once more, just beneath the surface.</p><p><em>Hell</em>, Bruce was tempted to tell Agent Romanoff that actually, he would pass on whatever ‘pow-wow’ they were having on the bridge. He was just going to stay in the lab, with the kid and the bird, working on the algorithm - searching for the Tesseract. After all, the faster it was found, the faster he could get the hell out of dodge.</p><p>Maybe he could ask the kid if he and his bird would be interested in visiting the more remote parts of the world... surely a place like SHIELD had little appeal to either bird or kid.</p><p><em>-Yeah</em>, ‘cos that sounded like a great plan that would definitely work in his favour. (When was the last time something had actually worked in his favour?) —</p><p>Bruce took another small breath.</p><p>He could do this.</p><p>He had gone over a year without an incident.</p><p>He could handle a few minutes of whatever news they had on the Tesseract and this ‘Loki’ character.</p><p><em>Still</em>, eyes roaming over to where Agent Romanoff strode silently in front of him, he once again wondered who’s <em>genius</em> idea it had been to send a femme fatale type agent to come get him. They understood that <em>any</em> sort of excitement was bad for him, <em>right</em>? <em>Sure</em>, he was far from a teenage boy, but <em>still</em>. How did they think sending an agent who could have actually been on the covers of magazines that he read as a teenage boy would be in any way conducive to keeping him calm and composed? —</p><p>He could do this —</p><p>Another small breath —</p><p>And he was back in the control room, trying to ignore all the keyboards and mice clicking — the computer monitors ever so softly humming — the screens ever-changing, showing different texts - images - colours — all the agents with holsters holding guns —</p><p>— That great big muscled blonde guy —</p><p>— A growl echoed through him —</p><p>— <em>He. Could. Do. This</em>.</p><p>Yet, he could still feel the other guy, stirring — liking <em>this</em> guy even less than all the others...</p><p>Another small breath and he started to move... — towards Captain Rogers. Captain Rogers who looked the least like a spy in this place. Captain Rogers who didn’t even look like he was carrying any sort of weapon. Captain Rogers who looked even more overwhelmed by all this than he was. Captain Rogers who while built, had nothing on Mr Muscles over there. Captain Rogers who in no way, shape or form would have been in any of the magazines he had read as a teenager. Captain Rogers... who looked like someone had punched him in the face...? —</p><p>A monitor in the glass table switched on in front of the seat closest to him - another appearing in front of where Rogers sat, while Romanoff took a seat where another monitor also lit: it was the Loki guy in some kind of glass silo-tank —</p><p><em>A glass cage</em>.</p><p>Another rumble reverberating through him, Bruce missed the beginning of whatever ‘<em>who has the biggest stick</em>’ speech Director Fury was giving Loki — for the floor beneath the cell to open up to darkness — the wind screaming through the intercom —</p><p>{“<em>Thirty thousand feet straight down in a steel trap -“</em>}</p><p>
  <em>Oh yeah, this is just wonderful...</em>
</p><p>{<em>“-You get how that works?</em>”}</p><p><em>Trust me, I do</em>.</p><p>— and the floor closed — the wind no longer howled — Bruce no longer thought about the thirty thousand feet drop the other guy would more than likely survive —</p><p>Another small breath.</p><p>{“<em>Ant </em>—<em> Boot.</em>”}</p><p>He could do this.</p><p>Whatever story was behind that, Bruce couldn’t care less; he could still feel the wind echoing through him, in tandem with the ever present rumble —</p><p>{“<em>It’s an impressive cage. Not built, I think, for me.</em>”}</p><p><em>Well</em> - it was nice to get confirmation.</p><p>{“<em>Built for something a lot stronger than you</em>.”}</p><p>Should he blush? Bruce looked up from the monitor, his eyes catching Agent Romanoff’s, unable to stop himself from giving her a smirk of his own —<em>no cage huh</em>?</p><p>{“<em>Oh I’ve heard</em>...<em> A mindless beast-”</em>}</p><p>Bruce’s gaze snapped away; no longer looking at either Romanov or the monitor — instead he looked down at the boring black leather chair he was leaning against —</p><p>{<em>“... makes play he’s still a man...</em>”}</p><p>— <em>Well</em>, maybe not boring, it looked comfortable...</p><p>{<em>“-.How desperate are you...”</em>}</p><p>— Rogers looked like he had really sunk into it —</p><p>{<em>“-that you call on such lost creatures to defend you?”</em>}</p><p>— then again, the captain was <em>technically</em> a nonagenarian.</p><p>{“<em>How desperate am I</em>? <em>You threaten my world with war; you steal a force you can’t hope to control</em>...”}</p><p>Bruce held back a scoff, his attempt to ignore the conversation obviously completely failing. As far as he can tell SHIELD didn’t have much ‘control’ over the Tesseract either...</p><p>{“... <em>you talk about peace and you kill ’cause it’s fun. You have made me very desperate. You might not be glad that you did</em>.”}</p><p>{“<em>Ooh. It burns you to have come so close, to have the Tesseract, to have power- unlimited power, and for what?”</em>} He looked up at the camera then, smiling that <em>punchable</em> - sardonic - smile {“— <em>A warm light for all mankind to share? And then to be reminded what real power is.”</em>}</p><p>Director Fury only smiled back, {“<em>Well, let me know if ’real power’ wants a magazine or something.</em>”} For him to move out of shot, the monitors switching off.</p><p><em>Great comeback</em>; <em>way to show the guy he</em> totally <em>doesn’t have you figured out</em>.</p><p>Bruce took another small breath. “He really grows on you doesn’t he?”</p><p>“Loki’s gonna drag this out. So, Thor, what’s his play?”</p><p>“He has an army called the Chitauri. They’re not of Asgard nor any world known. He means to lead them against your people. They will win him the Earth, in return, I suspect, for the Tesseract.”</p><p>“An army, from outer space?”</p><p><em>Outer space army; Just won-der-ful</em>. Bruce gave a nod - “So, he’s building another portal. That’s what he needs Erik Selvig for.”</p><p>This of course had Mr Big Muscles - ‘Thor’ - turn his attention to him — a growl echoed through him as their eyes met —“<em>Selvig</em>?”</p><p>“He’s an astrophysicist.” While they had never worked together, not in the same department and all that, Bruce had actually attended a couple of Selvig’s lectures at Culver, before — <em>everything</em>.</p><p>“He’s a friend.”</p><p>— another snarl resounded, just below the surface, at the challenging tone —</p><p> “Loki has them under some kind of spell- along with one of ours,” Romanoff explained, as Bruce took another breath, all while wondering how Doctor Selvig had ever come across ‘Thor’.</p><p>“I wanna know why Loki let us take him. He’s not leading an army from here,” Rogers added. </p><p>— <em>Yeah</em>; The outer space army.</p><p>— Another breath - definitely not thinking about armies - guns - explosions — “I don’t think we should be focusing on Loki. That guy’s brain is a bag full of cats; you can smell crazy on him.”</p><p>“Have care how you speak.-” — a glare - eyes meeting - a growl echoed — “-Loki is beyond reason but he is of Asgard, and he is my brother.”</p><p>“<em>Is he though?</em>”</p><p>Bruce’s attention snapped away from Mr Big Muscles, to Romanoff, her voice soft but cutting.</p><p>“We have sources saying he’s the son of ‘Laufey’ - a Jotuun - and a goddess of the Vanir.”</p><p>Thor blinked. From the corner of his eye Rogers, evidently all the more lost, mouthed ‘<em>Vanir?</em>’ - ‘<em>Jotuun?</em>’ - ‘<em>Laufrey?</em>’.</p><p>Now frowning more out of confusion than offence, Thor was slower to reply, “H-he was adopted... as a babe. He is as much of Asgard as I am.”</p><p>Yet the words lacked conviction, at least Bruce thought so. As well as Agent Romanov, “Any chance either Jotunheim or Vanaheim are also working with him?”</p><p>“<em>Nay!</em>”</p><p>— the snarl echoed louder than the previous ones —</p><p>“<em>Vanaheimr would never</em>! The Vanir have been at peace with the Æsir for near four thousand years!”</p><p>Most of the room was now staring at Thor. Even Captain Rogers was all that much straighter in his chair, eyeing the guy warily. — Just as another rumble reverberated through Bruce.</p><p>Romanoff looked unaffected though, only raising an eyebrow, looking at Thor pointedly, “And Laufey?”</p><p>— Another growl echoing through him was Bruce’s only warning before someone - <em>two</em> someone’s - walked into the room —</p><p>“One of our consultants, a professor at the University of Seville, states Laufrey is the king of Jotunheim, which would make Loki... a prince of Jotunheim, no?”</p><p>His face tightening, Thor gave a definitive shake, “<em>Nay</em>, Laufrey is dead. And with the Bifröst destroyed, Jötunheimr is all the more closed off from the other realms and rest of the universe. Nor would they ally themselves with Loki. He tricked them, just as he - he’s the one who killed Laufrey.”</p><p>For one of the two newcomers to quip, “<em>Wow</em>, could this be any more of a Shakespearian tragedy?”</p><p>Bruce instantly recognised him; Tony Stark.</p><p>Great. Just what this meeting needed; another self-absorbed prima donna. </p><p>What they really <em>needed </em>was to get back to the matter at hand: finding the Tesseract, so he could be far far away from all... <em>this</em>, “I think it’s about the mechanics. Iridium, what do they need the Iridium for?”</p><p>“It’s a stabilizing agent...”</p><p><em>Yep, definitely the performer</em>; Bruce watched Stark swagger further into the room, making sure everyone was listening, waiting on his every word, thankfully focusing on the biggest, most interesting thing in the room: Thor, who had gone back to looking confused... or was that irritated? — Iridium as a stabilizing agent did make sense though. Why hadn’t he thought of that?</p><p>“... Means the portal won’t collapse on itself like it did at SHIELD...” He paused next to Thor, tapping him on the arm. “No hard feelings Point Break, you got a mean swing...”</p><p>Thor wasn’t the only one giving Stark a look as he walked towards the control panels. — The <em>other guy</em> would have ripped his hand off.</p><p>“... Also, means the portal can open as wide and stay open as long as Loki wants. — <em>Ah</em>, raise the mizzen mast, ship the topsails!”</p><p>Bruce held back another sigh, taking another small slow breath instead, silently thankful that his past self had never worked with Stark (<em>either </em>Stark), genius he undoubtedly was.</p><p>“That man is playing Galaga! Thought we wouldn’t notice, but we did.”</p><p>Not that the theatrics ended there. Now, standing at the centre of the command panel, Stark proceeded to cover one of his eyes; it only took a moment for Bruce to realise what he was doing.</p><p>Another small breath. —</p><p>“How does Fury even see these?”</p><p>He could do this —</p><p>“He turns.”</p><p>Another small breath —</p><p>“Sounds exhausting!”</p><p><em>You’re exhausting</em>.</p><p>Stark started messing with the control panels, touching the screens... <em>Hell</em>, the guy was like a kid, having to touch everything.</p><p> “The rest of the raw materials, Agent Barton can get his hands on pretty easily. Only major component he still needs is a power source of high energy density. Something to-” his fingers snapped—stirring another rumble, “kick start the Cube.”</p><p>“When did you become an expert in thermonuclear astrophysics?”</p><p>“Last night. The packet, Selvig’s notes, the extraction theory papers — Am I the only one who did the reading?”</p><p>
  <em>Sorry, was trying to get some rest after looking over thirty different patients, all while getting my head round SHIELD, Agent Romanov, and the Tesseract that I’m not to swallow but only help find. Thankfully, had just enough time to change shirts-</em>
</p><p>- Bruce took another small breath -</p><p>“Does Loki need any particular kind of power source?” The question coming from his left; Rogers.</p><p>Bruce was quick to reply (possibly so that Stark couldn’t) and wouldn’t make a whole new performance out of it, “He’d have to heat the Cube to a hundred and twenty million Kelvin just to break through the Coulomb barrier.” (Possibly to show that he <em>did</em> know <em>some</em> things too.)</p><p>“Unless, Selvig has figured out how to stabilize the Quantum Tunneling effect.” <em>Great</em>, Stark was now moving-talking towards him.</p><p>“Well, if he could do that he could achieve heavy-ion fusion at any reactor on the planet.” - On the other hand, Bruce couldn’t remember the last time he had spoken to anyone about anything worthwhile and <em>interesting</em> that had his mind buzzing.</p><p>“<em>Finally</em>! Someone who speaks English.”</p><p>“Is that what just happened?”</p><p>Bruce suppressed a smile - which disappeared as soon as Stark held his hand out to him, “It’s good to meet you, Doctor Banner. Your work on anti-electronic collisions is unparalleled...-”</p><p><em>Wow</em>, an actually nice—</p><p>“-... And I’m a huge fan of the way you- lose control and turn into an enormous green rage monster.”</p><p>Bruce jaw twitched, “...Thanks.”</p><p>He could do this —</p><p>— The other guy growled — Bruce quickly identified why: Director Fury had joined the pow-wow. “Doctor Banner is only here to track the Cube. I was hoping you might join him.”</p><p><em>Of course</em> he was.</p><p>— Another small breath —</p><p>“I’d start with that stick of his. It may be magical but it works an awful lot like a HYDRA weapon.”</p><p>“I don’t know about that, but it is powered by the Cube. And I like to know how Loki used it to turn two of the sharpest men I know into his personal flying monkeys.”</p><p>“Monkeys? I do not understand--“</p><p>“-I do!”</p><p>Head snapping, Bruce blinked at Rogers before holding back a sigh; he felt somewhat sorry for the guy. Evidently, he wasn’t the only one affected, wanting to prove himself, after Stark’s little show-and-tell on all he knew and had already figured out.</p><p>“I...I understood that reference.”</p><p>Stark rolled his eyes next to him, pivoting to face Bruce, “Shall we play, Doctor?”</p><p>He could do this —</p><p>“This way, sir,” he pointed Stark in the right direction.</p><p>Another small breath —</p><p>He could do this —</p><p> </p><p>Hopefully the bird would still be in the room.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>=</strong>
</p><p> </p><p><a href="#_ftnref1" id="_ftn1" name="_ftn1">[1]</a> Berlin Wall / Fall of USSR - happened in 1989/early 1990s - while Harry not one for keeping with the times (especially 9-11 yr old) - can definitely see Uncle Vernon grumbling/making several comments about USSR/Communism</p><p><a href="#_ftnref2" id="_ftn2" name="_ftn2">[2]</a> As far as I’ve been told+read, in Russian, nouns have genders; this also being the case for first and last names. So the majority of the Russian female names end with “a” (Ольга = Olga), or with “я”: the last Tsar full name was ‘Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov’ while his wife’s full name was ‘Alexandra Feodorovna Romanova’</p><p><a href="#_ftnref3" id="_ftn3" name="_ftn3">[3]</a> For any interested, the difference in computer model/design between what is shown in the Avenger film and a computer Dudley could have gotten for his 11<sup>th</sup> birthday in pretty drastic: While apparently ‘intended as a media appliance rather than as a mainstream personal computer’ I could see the Durlseys getting him a whole computer set up like the ‘Commodore CDTV’: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodore_CDTV#Design">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodore_CDTV#Design</a> / also the Mac computer available at the time would have been a Macintosh Classic: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macintosh_Classic">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macintosh_Classic</a></p><p><a href="#_ftnref4" id="_ftn4" name="_ftn4">[4]</a> “You have a beautiful bird.”</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The evening continues on the muggle flying carrier</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>First: a huge thank you to dolphin_rider for looking over this chapter </p><p>Second - with life/things picking up in the UK (where I am) I will have less time to do as many updates as I had with the first 4 - not to mention trying to get the rigt voice/tone for each of the characters is no easy feat - but I definitely haven’t abandoned any of my stories... Hopefully this definitely longer than usual chapter will make up for the wait...</p><p>To that: Thank you so much for all your comments, kudos, general support for this fic and I hope you like/approve of the direction it is going in</p><p>Some parts of the text in this chapter have been taken from HP&amp; the Philosopher’s Stone, HP&amp; the Chamber of Secrets, HP&amp; the Goblet of Fire, and the ‘The Avengers’ (2012) film</p><p>-</p><p>11/11/2020 Minor edits to the text. Thank you so much to <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/rosaamarilla/pseuds/rosaamarilla">rosaamarilla</a> (Ao3) for an amazing read through</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>
  <strong>CHAPTER 5</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>-</p><p> </p><p></p><blockquote>
  <p><em>‘The Goblet of Fire now shone more brightly than anything in the whole Hall, the sparkling bright, bluey-whiteness of the flames almost painful on the eyes. Everyone watched, waiting...’</em> - Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire</p>
</blockquote><p> </p><p>-</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Not long after Dr Banner left with the (very pretty) agent (the Hat was convinced this was ‘Agent Romanov’, ‘a’ missing at the end of her name or not), a couple of agents entered the room.</p><p>Harry first thought he was in trouble, the men having come to bring him back to his room.</p><p>And yet, other than several not-so-discreet looks, mainly at Fawkes but also at Harry himself, they didn’t so much as question or scold either. Instead, they continued past Harry and over  to the main desk where Dr Banner had been working and gently set down their cargo -a rather slender box- before nicking it open—</p><p><em>Loki</em>’s staff.</p><p>Fawkes fluttered his wings at the sight, which relieved Harry to know that he wasn’t the only one unnerved by it.</p><p>It reminded him of Mr Ollivander’s remark on Voldemort’s wand being very powerful, and in the wrong hands...<a href="#_ftn1" id="_ftnref1" name="_ftnref1">[1]</a></p><p>At least the staff didn’t share any particularity with his wand.</p><p>‘<em>Indeed Harry. I think you will find little similarity between this staff and your wand</em>...’ the Hat agreed. ‘<em>On a side matter, I think you will be interested to know that your wand’s core came from Fawkes</em>.’</p><p>‘<em>My wand’s feather came from Fawkes?</em>’ Harry thought, amazed and distracted from the agents setting up the staff on the centre of the work-space</p><p><em>‘Indeed. Mr. Ollivander wrote to Professor Dumbledore after you bought your wand. While usually the recipient of the wand is not revealed, it is customary to inform the owner and-or companion of the creature the core originated from, whether it be antler, feather, hair, heartstring, horn, or whisker; a matter of pride if you will. Of course in your case I believe the fact that you had received a wand with Fawkes’ feather, when Tom Riddle had the first was also a reason for the letter... and for Mr Ollivander’s breach of the customary implied confidentiality.’</em> <a href="#_ftn2" id="_ftnref2" name="_ftnref2">[2]</a></p><p>Harry’s thoughts went to his visit with the strange wandmaker —before his attention was diverted by the entrance of several more agents into the laboratory, carrying a second large box. Unlike the previous one though, the agents simply left it on one of the other desks unopened - that, and ‘<em>STARK</em>’ was written was written on its top and side rather than ‘<em>SHIELD</em>’.</p><p>Once everything had been placed, all the agents left the room (but not without a few last looks at both Fawkes and Harry).</p><p>With a small frown, Harry wondered why they hadn’t said anything about them being in the room, not to mention leaving them alone with the staff.</p><p>The Hat gave a chuckle, ‘<em>I believe they are curious to see what you will do.</em>’</p><p>‘<em>Like when you thought Agent Romanov was testing me </em>—<em>testing my</em> ‘knowledge of this planet<em>’?</em>’</p><p>‘<em>Indeed. I think it is safe to assume they are trying to gather as much information about you as they can, and what better way to do so but to observe you while you think yourself alone and unobserved</em>.’<a href="#_ftn3" id="_ftnref3" name="_ftnref3">[3]</a></p><p>That was a valid point, not that it reassured Harry any. In fact, it convinced him even more to stay clear of the staff. Just as it made him even more wary of the pretty agent — and Agent Coulson (even if they were just doing their jobs).</p><p>Harry wondered about Doctor Banner. The physicist had mentioned being outside of the United States when SHIELD had gotten in touch with him. While probably not possessing the same amount or type of linguistic knowledge as what the Hat had accumulated in a thousand years, the doctor probably knew several languages, along with everything else he was knowledgeable on. (The doctor did remind Harry of Hermione and her ever-growing passion for knowledge.)</p><p>‘<em>Do you think Dr Banner is also reporting to SHIELD?</em>’</p><p>‘<em>I wouldn’t discount it </em>— <em>but the good doctor does stand out from the others.</em>’</p><p>That was true. Doctor Banner definitely didn’t look or act like the other people on the ship. Not to mention, while he could have lied, he had stated rather bluntly that he didn’t work for SHIELD. They had only contacted him specifically for his knowledge of ‘gamma radiation’ in order to find the Tesseract. — Not to mention, he had looked dumbfounded when he had first laid eyes on Fawkes and Harry. While the SHIELD agents did give them looks, they didn’t act as if Fawkes or Harry’s presence was all that astonishing.</p><p>‘<em>I wouldn’t be surprised if SHIELD is keeping as much an eye on him as they are on you.</em>’</p><p>‘<em>Oh?</em>’</p><p>‘<em>Fawkes </em>—<em>felt something in Doctor Banner. He seems to be afflicted with very high anxiety levels - so much more so than found normally in humans.’</em></p><p>Harry frowned. The doctor had looked perfectly calm to him, if slightly excited when he had really started to explain nuclear physics (which reminded Harry all the more of Hermione).</p><p>‘<em>Ah, but that is what is so intriguing; while Doctor Banner has a very high stress level, he is able to suppress it to the point that it is near-unnoticeable. I believe there is quite a bit more to the doctor than meets the eye; much more than simply his expertise in nuclear physics </em>— <em>and that SHIELD’s interest in him goes beyond that of his highly-developed mind.</em>’</p><p>As Harry pondered the Hat’s words,  his gaze strayed over to the staff (though, his body stayed firmly in his seat), ‘<em>Do you think the staff has gamma radiation</em>?’ He wondered if SHIELD was going to study it like they had been the Tesseract.</p><p>‘<em>Perhaps, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they first used it to try to locate the Tesseract.</em>’</p><p>‘<em>You don’t think they’ve already found it</em>?’ They had found Loki after all.</p><p>‘<em>There is the possibility. However, I wouldn’t discount Loki having sent the Tesseract elsewhere when SHIELD disembarked. He does have aid in the form of mind-controlled agents who would know SHIELD’s tactical strategies after all.</em></p><p>‘<em>I also believe that Director Fury would want the Tesseract close-at-hand (and away from possible civilian casualties), especially after the breach, theft, and subsequent destruction of their last base. There are only so many places to store the Tesseract on this ship, and given the impressive array of technology in this room, noted by yourself, it would be one of the more likely places to store it </em>— <em>and study it... Not to mention, Fawkes does not sense it on the ship, unlike Loki and the staff.</em>’</p><p>Loki had definitely looked <em>pleased</em> when he had passed the lab; even in handcuffs, surrounded by guards. As if it was part of his plan to be captured.</p><p>‘<em>Indeed; while differing in several aspects, the situation does make one think, worryingly, of the tale of the Trojan Horse.</em>’</p><p>Harry stared warily at the staff still sitting harmlessly on the nearby workbench, all while remembering Ollivander’s comment on the wand choosing the wizard. Had this staff ‘chosen’ Loki? Had Loki done anything to it? — Maybe it was somehow listening in, watching SHIELD - and Harry?</p><p>‘<em>I have never heard a staff acting in such a way, but you are right to be cautious. While neither Fawkes nor I can say much with regards to either this staff or its unfamiliar core, or if Loki has done anything in particular to it, staffs do tend to be more powerful than wands. They have more space for magic to resonate... that, and the usually ‘exposed’ core is less restricted.</em>’</p><p>‘<em>Then why don’t wizards use staffs?</em>’</p><p>‘<em>They used to, but staffs are far less practical. Most deemed that the increased power didn’t compensate enough for their bulk. Also, the great length of the staff coupled with the exposed core makes them much more vulnerable. Though the use of a metal shaft in this particular case circumvents this partially, I wouldn’t recommend having a metal-made - especially a gold-made - staff. While gold is stronger and more resistant, it is a lot heavier and requires more energy in handling than wood; Though this Loki fellow did more than prove his ability and agility to wield such a weapon.</em>’</p><p>Remembering the ‘fight’ in the secret laboratory, Harry agreed.</p><p>From there, both Hat and Harry decided it best to wait in the room in order to see what SHIELD was going to use the staff for, and if indeed it was to find the Tesseract, though Harry continued to hope that the Hat was wrong and the blue box had already been found.</p><p>Given the Hat’s warning about SHIELD watching him, Harry was reluctant to look too closely at any of the equipment. Nor did he dare pick anything up. The most he did was watch the different screens as their blue or green-lined graphs continually evolved, trying to figure out what each represented (‘<em>G-ray levels</em>’ was the easiest to figure out)...</p><p>… He then wondered what was in the other box the agents had brought — and what ‘STARK’ stood for.</p><p>They ended up making a game of it, each taking turns to list possible acronyms.</p><p>The Hat had just come up with ‘<strong>S</strong>trategic <strong>T</strong>askforce <strong>A</strong>dvocating <strong>R</strong>esearch and <strong>K</strong>nowledge’, after Harry’s own ‘<strong>S</strong>upreme <strong>T</strong>errestrial <strong>A</strong>ssociation of <strong>R</strong>eckless <strong>K</strong>ings’ (Harry’s tended to be more outlandish), when the soft hum of the door announced someone’s arrival.</p><p>Both Fawkes and he wiped around to find that Doctor Banner had returned, along with another man.</p><p>Harry jumped from his chair at the sight of the doctor, ready to ask how the meeting had went, and if they had found the Tesseract along with Loki (and him one step closer to returning to Hogwarts) —</p><p>What little hope he had dwindled at the sight of Doctor Banner’s face...</p><p>—“<em>Whoa!</em> What’s with the bird? Has Fury gone full-pirate and is using a parrot to spy on us?”</p><p>Attention snapping to the second man who was currently gawking at Fawkes, Harry couldn’t help but interject, “Fawkes isn’t a parrot.” Even Fawkes had puffed his feathers angrily, clearly also affronted.</p><p>The man swerved around in order to gawk at him instead.</p><p>Harry knew instantly that this was the sort of person Uncle Vernon grumbled about. His uncle would probably even criticise his oddly-shaped beard. But the man’s true ‘crime’: he was wearing a <em>t-shirt</em>. Harry wasn’t sure he had ever come across an adult wearing a t-shirt before; short-sleeved shirt on a warm day, <em>yes</em> - t-shirt, <em>no</em>. </p><p>“Umm... Were you in the middle of taking your kid to Comic-Con and weren’t able to drop him off at ‘Monster Day-care’ when they brought you in?” The man’s sharp stare panned expectantly between Harry and Doctor Banner (who had started blinking rapidly, face paling), before looking accusingly over at Harry, “Though feel kinda offended you didn’t go as <em>Iron Man</em>.”</p><p>Harry just frowned back up at him (mostly due to having understood only about half of what he had said rather than having taken offence).</p><p>“-Not that your costume doesn’t look great. Who are you going as? —<em>No</em>. <em>Wait</em>. Let me guess...” Eyes narrowed, he took a moment to analyze the entirety of Harry’s outfit before snapping his fingers together and pointing straight at him, “... <em>Gandalf</em>? — <em>Though</em> you’re missing the beard.  Did it get too itchy?”</p><p>Which only made Harry more confused.</p><p>The Hat chuckled, ‘<em>While I am befuddled by the previous terms, I believe</em> ‘Gandalf’ <em>refers to a character in a mundane literary series, deemed of the</em> ‘fantastical’ <em>genre. When the first book came out, there was a worry of a possible breach of the Statute: whether the author was a squib or if he had come across wizards who had participated in the mundane</em> ‘World War’<em>. It was ultimately concluded that the tale was inspired by folklore rather than the wizarding world</em>.’</p><p>“Or maybe not...” having clearly picked up on Harry’s confusion, the man tapped his chin, eyes still fixed on Harry, “Any ideas Jarv?”</p><p>Harry’s frown deepened, wondering how he had gotten the nickname ‘<em>Jarv</em>’ from ‘<em>Bruce Banner</em>’?</p><p>Speaking of, “Doctor Banner isn’t my father.”</p><p>The man looked far from convinced. His mouth and beard twitched as he looked from Doctor Banner (who was looking rather relieved) to Harry.</p><p>He began to pace, shuffling ever closer towards the desk with the ‘STARK’ box on it, before glancing back at Harry —</p><p>“<em>Wait</em>,” He turned around, and for a second time to snap his fingers and point at Harry, “Was it ‘bring your kid to work day’? You Coulson’s kid? I mean, teen-pregnancies are definitely a thing, but really don’t think you’re Romanov’s little bundle of joy. And you’re not glary, pirate-y enough to be Fury’s... And I didn’t bother with any of the others’ names. So, you ‘Agent-Agent Jr’?”</p><p>Harry blinked owlishly at the man as he rattled on, “Is he keeping you under wraps to not scare the cellist away? You can tell us, it will be our little secret; you - me - Brucie here... and dear old agent dad. —Scouts’ honour.” </p><p>Harry very much doubted he had ever been in the scouts.</p><p>“He-<em>Heck</em>, I’ll even throw in a brand new, top-of-the-line Stark phone… and tablet...”</p><p>When Harry still didn’t answer, even with the additional incentive (though he was incredibly curious as to what a ‘STARK’ phone and tablet entailed) the man gave him a nod of approval, “<em>Principles</em>. I respect that. It’s good to have them. Though, it’s just convincing me even more that you’re ‘Mini-Agent Coulson’...”</p><p>He gave Harry another lingering look, like he was a puzzle he was trying to solve - Harry wasn't sure what the look meant but really didn’t like it aimed at him - for the man to give him a final shake of the head. “Right, enough ‘chit-chat’; let’s find this Cube and learn what SHIELD is really using it for,” he stated as he completed his march over to the box and tapped a code to open it.</p><p>Eyes not having left the man, Harry couldn’t help but ask, “What does STARK stand for?”</p><p>—Only for Harry to jerk back in surprise as not only the man but Doctor Banner as well jolted right back up and gaped at him as if he had just asked something very foolish.</p><p>“Y-...w-...” </p><p>For the first time since his entrance, the man was speechless; his confused face did nothing to soothe Harry’s growing unease.</p><p>So much so that Doctor Banner interjected, “Salazar… do you mean you don’t recognise the name ‘Stark’?”</p><p>“Umm...no — oh, I mean, <em>yes</em>...?”</p><p>The doctor looked - oddly - amused by this.</p><p>Before he could respond though, the other man had finally found his voice, “why do you wanna know what it means?”</p><p>“Well...” Harry squirmed, reluctant to ultimately reveal: “I had no idea, so I made a game of guessing possible acronyms while waiting for Doctor Banner to return…”</p><p>“Oh? And what did you come up with?”</p><p>“Well... I figured it was probably something like ‘<strong>S</strong>trategic <strong>T</strong>actical <strong>A</strong>dvancement of <strong>R</strong>esearch and <strong>K</strong>nowledge’... but my personal favourite is ‘<strong>S</strong>uper <strong>T</strong>eam <strong>A</strong>rmy of <strong>R</strong>obot <strong>K</strong>illers’.”</p><p>The man looked pleased by these, lips twitching. He even gave Harry a nod of approval as he moved out from behind the desk and stepped closer to Harry, offering him his hand, “Tony <em>Stark, </em>pleasure to meet you...”</p><p>Harry blinked, for his whole face to heat up. <em>Great</em>, he had definitely put his foot in it. Even the Hat gave a soft chuckle.</p><p>Completely embarrassed, Harry was barely able to look at the man - Mister Stark - as he shook the offered hand and gulped out, “S-Salazar Slytherin.”</p><p>“Salazar?” Mister Stark’s right eye brow rose as he let go of Harry’s hand.</p><p>“uh... yeah...”</p><p>“And I thought I had it bad at school...” He gave Harry a commiserating look.</p><p>He continued to stare at Harry for several beats but didn’t say anything else. Instead, he turned back to the box, to finally open it...</p><p>…</p><p>Revealing… A computer?</p><p>With the box-turned-computer up and running, both men got down to business, Doctor Banner confirming the Hat’s theory that Loki had indeed not revealed where the Tesseract was. An understated buzz took hold of the room; the two men fluttered between the various machines and the staff. It was as if Loki’s withholding had only spurred them on.</p><p>Doctor Banner moved around the staff with one of the detectors, scanning it from every angle…</p><p>…</p><p>… He stopped to study the closest screen…</p><p>...</p><p>“The Gamma readings are definitely consistent with Selvig’s reports on the Tesseract. But it’s gonna take weeks to process.”</p><p>Harry felt his stomach drop; his hope dwindling that much faster.</p><p>He didn’t have <em>weeks</em>.</p><p>“If we bypass their mainframe and direct route to the Homer cluster we can clock this at around six hundred teraflops,” Mr Stark called out from his box-turned-into-computer.</p><p>Harry suppressed a sigh of relief; while he had no idea what ‘teraflops’ were, they definitely sounded far more promising.</p><p>“All I packed was a toothbrush.”</p><p>Mister Stark chuckled, “You know, you should come by Stark Tower some time. Top ten floors all R and D. You’d love it, it’s a candy land.”</p><p>“Thanks but...last time I was in New York I kind of broke... <em>Harlem</em>.”</p><p>Harry frowned, unsure what that was supposed to mean. He could only assume it had something to do with the doctor’s supposed high anxiety levels. But how did that have anything to do with ‘breaking’ part of a city? — Fawkes must have sensed something though, as he let out a series of soft trills.</p><p>“Well, I promise a stress free environment. No tension, no surprises” —He poked Doctor Banner in the side.</p><p>Fawkes squawked, flapping his wings angrily, just as Harry jumped out of his chair and Doctor Banner cried out - “<em>Ow</em>!”</p><p>“<em>Hey</em>!”</p><p>Frowning — <em>glaring </em>at Mr Stark, Harry’s head couldn’t help but snap towards the call: another man had entered the laboratory wearing an impressive scowl of his own. </p><p>Harry turned back to face Mr Stark; the man only gave Fawkes - still trilling heatedly - a brief glance, before completely ignoring the new man in favour of eyeing Doctor Banner, “<em>Nothing</em>?”</p><p>“<em>Are you nuts</em>?”</p><p>At the question, Mr Stark finally spared the new man a glance, “Jury’s out!” before returning his focus on the doctor. “You really have got a lid on it, haven’t you? What’s your secret? Mellow jazz, bongo drums, huge bag of w—?”</p><p>The last word was swallowed back down his throat as his eyes landed on Harry, as if just remembering he was also in the room;</p><p>“You know kid, you’ve got dear old Coulson’s immovable scowl down to a pat. Another point in his favor.”</p><p>The statement brought the new man’s attention to Harry, his frown now aimed in his direction; though (hopefully) more out of confusion than anger.</p><p>For a third time, Mister Stark snapped his fingers and pointed to Harry, “Actually — That’s a kinda posh-Brit’ accent you got there... — Hey Cap, wasn’t your lost-lady-love a British dame...?”</p><p>Though, he barely gave ‘Cap’ a second look before his finger was back on Harry, “Any chance one of your grandmas is a ‘Peggy Carter’?”</p><p>Surprisingly, whatever protests ‘Cap’ had been about to say died in his throat at the question. Instead, the new man paused to peer at Harry with renewed interest, along with Doctor Banner, while Mr Stark grinned triumphantly down at him,</p><p>“— Grandma Peggy — Granny P? —Granny M? —Grandma Marge—”</p><p>Harry blinked.</p><p>“<em>Oh</em>! Do we have a winner?” </p><p>“Oh! No —no, no.... it’s just, I have an Aunt Marge —<em>well</em>, she isn't <em>really</em> my aunt. I just have to call her that. Besides, her last name isn’t even ‘Carter’.”</p><p>‘Cap’ pulled back, exhaling softly in relief. On the other hand, Mister Stark’s sharp gaze continued to bore into Harry, as if to gauge if he was lying… “You sure? Promise I’ll let you in on what I find on SHIELD ”</p><p>‘Cap’ turned to Mister Stark, his glare returning full-force, “Is everything a joke to you?”</p><p>“Funny things are.”</p><p>“You need to focus on the problem, Mister Stark.”</p><p>“You think I’m not? Why did Fury call us in? Why now, why not before? What isn’t he telling us? I can’t do the equation unless I have all the variables.</p><p>“You think Fury’s hiding something?</p><p>“He’s a <em>spy</em>. Captain, he’s <em>the</em> spy. His secrets have secrets.”</p><p>He gestured to Doctor Banner, “It’s bugging him to, isn’t it?</p><p>The doctor waved his hands —“<em>Uhh</em>, Aah, I just wanna finish my work here and—”</p><p>“Doctor?”</p><p>Doctor Banner deflated with a long sigh... he removed his glasses and began to wipe them on the hem of his shirt, “‘<em>A warm light for all mankind</em>’... Loki’s jab at Fury about the Cube.”</p><p>“I heard it.”</p><p>“Well, I think that was meant for you,” he gestured at Mister Stark, who offered him the container full of blueberries in return.</p><p>“Even if Barton didn’t tell Loki about the tower, it was still all over the news.”</p><p>“Stark Tower? That big ugly”-</p><p>Harry blinked - Stark <em><span class="u">Tower</span>?</em> - just as Mister Stark gave ‘Cap’ a look.</p><p>“-building in New York?”</p><p>“It’s powered by an arc reactor, self-sustaining energy source. That building will run itself for, what, a year?”</p><p>“It’s just the prototype,” Mister Stark turned from Banner to the captain. “I’m kind of the only name in clean energy right now, that’s what he’s getting at,” talking as if he was explaining basic math.</p><p>“So, why didn’t SHIELD bring him in on the Tesseract project? What are they even doing in the energy business in the first place?” Banner continued.</p><p>Harry frowned, “Isn’t it a door—portal?” It had, after all, somehow brought Fawkes and him from another <em>universe</em>.</p><p>Three pairs of eyes snapped to him.</p><p>Harry’s ears warmed, “Well... I know it has Gamma radiation.” He glanced over at Doctor Banner, “and it generates power, but Loki was able to... to use it to arrive on Earth—”</p><p>“-and is going to use it to bring the Chitauri army,” Mister Stark added, snapping his fingers.</p><p>Harry’s eyes widened; <em>an army?</em></p><p>The captain’s frown turned sceptical, “so... SHIELD is also planning to use the Tesseract as a - what — <em>teleportation device</em>?”</p><p>Mr Stark actually gave him an approving nod, “Something else to definitely look into SHIELD about. —Blueberry?”<a href="#_ftn4" id="_ftnref4" name="_ftnref4">[4]</a></p><p>The captain only scowled at him more in response, ignoring the offered container, “Yet you’re confused about why they didn’t want you around.”</p><p>“An intelligence organization that fears intelligence? Historically, not awesome.”</p><p>The remark reminded Harry of Professor Dumbledore at the end of last year, about ‘the truth’ being a ‘<em>beautiful and terrible thing</em>’ that should be ‘<em>treated with great caution</em>’, and that he would tell Harry when he was older —when he was ‘ready’;</p><p>“I think Director Fury probably thought you weren’t…” <em>well</em>, he <em>was</em> old enough “—ready to be included with such <em>intelligence</em>.”</p><p>The captain interjected before Mister Stark could respond, “<em>I think</em> Loki’s trying to wind us up. This is a man who means to start a war and if we don’t stay focused he’ll succeed. We have orders, we should follow them.”</p><p>“Following’s not really my style.”</p><p>“And you’re all about style, aren’t you?”</p><p>“Out of the people in this room, which one is "A" wearing a spangly outfit and "B" not of use?”</p><p>“Steve, tell me none of this smells a little funky to you?”</p><p>“Just find the Cube.” With that parting statement, ‘Captain Steve’ headed for the door in a huff.</p><p>Harry watched him as he paused just outside the laboratory before turning to walk in the opposite direction.</p><p> “—<em>kept him on ice.</em>”</p><p>Blinking, Harry's attention refocused on  the remaining two men, catching Doctor Banner mid-sigh, “Guy’s not wrong about Loki; he does have the jump on us.”</p><p>Mister Stark looked far from convinced, “What he’s got is an ACME dynamite kit. It’s gonna blow up in his face, and I’m gonna be there when it does.</p><p>Harry’s frown returned, “If he really is <em>Loki</em>, he’s over a thousand years old and the <em>god</em> of <em>mischief</em>. He’s probably been planning this for longer than you — and SHIELD, even knew about the Tesseract. Do you really think that between him and you, he’s the one who didn’t plan things out?” Not to mention, he actually had <em>magic</em>.</p><p>Both men blinked owlishly at Harry.</p><p>Mister Stark tilted his head to the side, “<em>Y’know</em>... no reason to be —<em>species-ist...</em> — <em>human-ist</em>(?),” he waved the container at Harry, “You seem pretty fan-boy-ing on Loki — not to mention, you sound quite a bit like Point Break and Reindeer Games — and you kinda <em>look </em>like him... Did SHIELD somehow kidnap Loki’s mini-me? Are they using you as leverage in hopes that Loki tells them where the Cube is?”</p><p>To be fair to Harry, during the Magical Theory lessons centred on Nordic Magical Mythology, while Loki was a definite favourite of Slytherin students, the rest of the students had also approved of the legends of Loki and his magic use as well. Given their prominent use of magic, the Vanir were also met with great endorsement among the Hogwarts student population. (The Æsir on other hand... students tended to be of two minds about them; the most sympathetic were the Hufflepuff followed by the Gryffindor as they share several similar character traits.)</p><p><em>Still</em>, this didn’t stop Harry from glaring up at the man once more -and in the process noticed that Doctor Banner was also staring at him with a certain level of intrigue. The doctor shrugged embarrassedly, “well, you... <em>do</em> have a certain resemblance—”</p><p>Mister Stark cut in, “— and that scar-mark on your forehead; kinda looks like Nordic writing... Not to mention the whole air of mystery surrounding you. While chicks might dig it, Jarvis is getting frustrated not finding any trace of you. I mean, what - <em>human</em> - kid doesn’t have a Facebook page?<a href="#_ftn5" id="_ftnref5" name="_ftnref5">[5]</a></p><p>—<em>Ha</em>! You see! You don’t even know what that is! Which leaves two options:</p><p>“One: super-spy kid whose dad hid his identity beyond what could be construed as ‘normal parental behaviour’, and who gives you over-the-top presents - such as tropical birds - as apologies for all the times he’s missed out on father-son bonding time to go deal with bad guys.</p><p>“—<em>Or</em>, option two: <em>space-alien kid</em> —with his own alien bird, gifted to make up for all the years Daddy-alien was away, invading other planets.”</p><p>He raised his hands in surrender at Harry’s growing scowl, “alright - alright... Word to the wise though: during those teenage-alien rebellious years, make sure to not get <em>so</em> drunk as to pass-out while behind the wheel of your spaceship — and don’t get a green space-girl pregnant.  —<em>Hey</em>, you might be scrunching your nose at me now, but in a few years, those three-breasted alien chicks will be most of what you’ll be thinking about—”</p><p>Doctor Banner coughed and gave Mr Stark a pointed look.</p><p>“But that won’t be for a few more years... <em>Actually</em>, being a space-kid means you’ve missed out on loads of things; namely: the best music in the universe...”</p><p>Mister Stark tapped on one of the screens a couple times until music that Harry was certain Aunt Petunia would never have approved of started to fill the room.</p><p>It reminded Harry of the <em>Weird Sisters</em> — but edgier.</p><p>“Umm, its - it’s nice.”</p><p>“‘<em>Nice</em>’? - No, no, no. <em>The Beatles</em> are ‘<em>nice</em>’; <em>This</em> is <em>Black Sabbath</em> — more specifically <em>Black Sabbath</em>’s ‘<em>End of the beginning</em>’.”<a href="#_ftn6" id="_ftnref6" name="_ftnref6">[6]</a></p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>-</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>Harry was in the Chamber, with Tom Riddle telling him how alike they were. Harry shook his head; they were nothing alike. The Basilisk started encircling them and even though he tried to fight it or even climb over it, its scales proved too slippery. The ring shrank smaller and smaller as Riddle cackled in his ear, delighting in Harry's ineffectual struggle — Then Riddle turned into Loki, sneering imperiously down at him, his laugh becoming high and cold — there was a burst of green light and Harry woke, shaking.</p><p>‘—<em>Harry - Mr Potter! Are you alright?</em>’</p><p>Harry held back a groan, his head felt as if it had been hit by a bludger.</p><p>He rubbed his eyes, straightening slowly. ‘<em>What time is it?</em>’</p><p>‘<em>Just before daybreak. </em>— <em>Are you well?</em>’</p><p>Harry gave a tentative nod, careful  not to shake his head too much. Mind still throbbing, he tried to recall his dream... but nothing came up beyond wisps of half-remembered fear...</p><p>At least Mister Stark’s music was playing much softer than earlier; the humming noises from the various machines and the man’s own soft tapping at the computer were even discernible.</p><p>He was also reassured that he wasn’t the only one to have dozed off. Fawkes’ head rested under his wing, soft coos occasionally being heard. Doctor Banner, eyes closed, was propped against the large window-pane.</p><p>Letting out a sigh, Harry’s eyes drooped down... landing on the staff…</p><p>Harry blinked slowly at it...</p><p>He wasn’t sure if it was the last of the sleep leaving him, but it seemed... <em>brighter</em> than before...</p><p>It definitely had a similar colour and glow to the Tesseract...</p><p>Doctor Banner and Mister Stark seemed to think it was <em>powered </em>by the Tesseract...</p><p>Could... </p><p>Could the staff help them get back...</p><p>If Harry used it... </p><p>Surely it would... —</p><p>“<em>Y’alright there kid</em>?”</p><p>Harry jerked back; not only was he standing, but he had started to move towards the staff. His right hand was even slightly raised... as if he had been reaching for it.</p><p>“Don’t think I’ve ever had anyone fall asleep to <em>Black Sabbath</em> before; The <em>Betrayal!</em>... Worse: Brucie and Long John Silver’s lost parrot followed your bad example. You proud of yourself Kal-El?”</p><p>Still frowning, Harry shook his head and forced himself to turn away from the staff, “It’s Harry, not ‘Kal-El’.”</p><p>“<em>Harry </em>—<em>really</em>? Doesn’t sound very <em>alien-y</em>.”</p><p>Harry’s head snapped up, eyes gone wide. He felt his face heat as he furtively peeked at Mister Stark.</p><p>The man raised his right eyebrow, staring straight back at him, “Is that your ‘Earth name’ for when you ‘hide among us’?... Guess it’s better than ‘Clark Kent’.”</p><p>Harry made a face, “are you talking about <em>Superboy</em>?”</p><p>“Super-<em>man</em>,” Mister Stark corrected automatically, before shooting him a rather unimpressed look, “—Y’know <em>Superman</em> - <em>comic books</em> - but you don’t know <em>me</em>, a real life superhero, <em>really</em>?”</p><p>What Harry remembered was Aunt Petunia, for the first time ever, furious with Dudley, when finding him watching ‘<em>Superboy</em>’. Neither she nor Uncle Vernon had been moved by his tears or yelling; he was not allowed to watch it. Dudley had only been calmed at the promise that he could watch the new James Bond film. He had had nightmares for ages afterwards... — and had continued to watch ‘<em>Superboy</em>’ at Piers’ house, to later taunt Harry about it.<a href="#_ftn7" id="_ftnref7" name="_ftnref7">[7]</a></p><p>Rubbing his forehead, Harry decided he was not yet awake enough to talk with Mister Stark - and possibly risk saying too much. He gave Mister Stark a tight smile, “I’m gonna go get an early breakfast... — would you like anything?”</p><p>“I’m good, thanks <em>Harry</em>.”</p><p>Harry didn't bother glaring back, instead he paused at the door to regard the still-sleeping Fawkes, unsure—</p><p>“Don’t worry kid, we’ll look after your space-bird.”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>-</strong>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>‘<em>That is no ordinary staff.</em>’</p><p>The walk to the cafeteria had been done in silent reflection. It was only after reaching the cafeteria, after Harry had loaded his tray (making sure to take a container full of strawberries for Fawkes —  and an apple for Doctor Banner) and had started eating that the Hat spoke of his unease.</p><p>An unease shared by Harry.</p><p>There was definitely something... <em>off</em> about the staff. While the fresh cup of tea and a fuller stomach definitely helped, he was certain that no longer being in the presence of the staff was the biggest reason why his head felt a lot clearer.</p><p>‘<em>Aye. I’m assuming its effect is gradual, from prolonged exposure; just as water warming, for the frog to realise too late it's being cooked</em>...’</p><p>Harry gulped, unsure what to take from that particularly disturbing metaphor.</p><p>‘<em>Unfortunately, I doubt its intent is anything beneficial. It resembles a compulsion of some sort; To be perfectly honest it reminds of Mister Riddle’s Diary</em>‘<em>— </em></p><p>Harry’s apprehension grew, ‘<em>Will the others be alright with it in there with them?</em>’ already rising from his seat.</p><p>‘<em>I’m uncertain. While Fawkes’ presence should ease some of the effect, both are mundane — and there are both their underlying issues to consider.</em>’</p><p>Harry nearly tripped, ‘<em>What underlying issues?</em>’</p><p>‘<em>As you slept, Doctor Banner and Mister Stark alluded to the doctor’s high anxiety. While I’m uncertain as to what happened exactly, they did infer a laboratory accident - involving Gamma radiation - to which the doctor should have died. And yet, Doctor Banner somehow survived. Though, instead of receiving a scar, he was afflicted with... some sort of temporary metamorphosis. From what they said, along with Mister Stark’s... actions, it could be inferred to be directly connected with Doctor Banner’s excitement and-or irritation levels.</em></p><p>‘<em>Mister Stark also had a — ‘near-death experience’; an altercation which resulted in a certain amount of ‘shrapnel’ - tiny pieces of metal - landing very close to his heart. I am assuming they were too close —too risky to be removed, as he fashioned himself a device placed into his chest, stopping the pieces from moving any closer</em>.’</p><p>Harry stopped mid-stride and stared into nothing, unable to even imagine what the Hat was describing. Though, incidentally, he did remember a slight glow beneath the man’s t-shirt. The glow came from something in his chest?</p><p>In the next moment, he was picking up his pace until he hurtled down the halls. He worried that the staff would not only somehow affect Doctor Banner’s ‘affliction,’ but also Mister Stark’s device.</p><p>The sound of raised voices as they drew near did nothing to alleviate this worry.</p><p>‘<em>Do you think it’s the staff?</em>’</p><p>Finally reaching the right hallway, he peeped through the nearest laboratory window, to find it a lot more crowded than before.</p><p>The door slid near-silently open as Harry entered and caught the tail-end of Romanov’s question; “...-<em>from this environment, doctor</em>?”</p><p>So silent was his entrance that none of the several occupants noticed. Doctor Banner was preoccupied by his glaring contest with the red-haired agent, letting out a harsh chuckle, “I was in Calcutta; I was pretty well removed.”</p><p>“Loki’s manipulating you,” she retorted as the rest looked on; Mister Stark next to the doctor, while Director Fury was by the agent’s side, along with two other men-</p><p>“And you’ve been doing what exactly?”</p><p>-Harry quickly recognised ‘Captain Steve’ - mostly from his outfit - standing next to a huge muggle gun that had definitely not been on the table when Harry had left-</p><p>“You didn’t come here because I bat my eyelashes at you.”</p><p>-As for the other: a large, burly man. While he also had long blonde hair, he couldn’t have been any more different from Mister Malfoy. If anything, Harry thought he resembled like what Godric Gryffindor might have looked like-</p><p>“Yes, and I’m not leaving because suddenly you get a little twitchy-”</p><p>-‘<em>Godric had bright flaming-red hair</em>,’ the Hat chuckled through the rising voices-</p><p>“-I’d like to know why SHIELD is using the Tesseract to build weapons of mass destruction,” Doctor Banner exclaimed loudly, calling Harry’s full attention back to the argument-at-hand. The doctor was pointing to what looked like a huge cannon displayed on one of the screens.</p><p>Harry inched closer, tilting his head slightly to try to get a better look—</p><p>“-Because of him,” the director pointed accusingly at the large man Harry had just been eyeing.</p><p>The man frowned, Harry right along with him; <em>him</em>?</p><p>“Me?”</p><p>What had he done?-</p><p>“Last year earth had a visitor from another planet who had a grudge match that levelled a small town.-”</p><p>Harry’s frown deepened with each word-</p><p>“-We learned that not only are we not alone, but we are h—”</p><p>“-That’s not true.”</p><p>Fury swerved around - along with everyone else - to face Harry head-on, making him realise he had spoken out loud... and quite loudly at that.</p><p>The director blinked to open his mouth, clearly ready to retort... or tell him off, but Harry didn’t give him the chance, “I mean, I’m not saying that a small town wasn’t destroyed, but you knew about outsiders before then... — before him,” pointing to the muscled man. “When you asked me all those questions —interrogated me, you mentioned others. I didn’t notice at the time, but then Agent Coulson mentioned them as well: Krees - Skrulls - Flerkens. I think they have also already come to Earth, —and probably before he destroyed a small town.”</p><p>Several opened their mouths, clearly ready to interject - about the interrogation - about Krees and Skrulls - about their involvement in the destruction of a town - he wasn’t sure; but Harry was on a roll. He could feel the Hat spurring him on... and was that Fawkes? The phoenix let out a soft, quavering note, and Harry felt as though a drop of hot liquid had slipped down his throat into his stomach, warming him, and strengthening him.</p><p>His voice all that much firmer, he pushed past any possible protest, his gaze falling on the large weapon displayed on-screen, “These plans, these weapons — you’ve been studying the Tesseract in your secret laboratory for more than a year, haven't you? Was it the Krees, the Skrulls, the Flerkens? Did they attack you... did they try to take it?”</p><p>The room broke into absolute discord. The large man cried out, “Krees and Skrulls have been here?!” - ‘Captain Steve’ exclaimed, “What exactly have you been doing with the Cube since finding it in the ocean?!” - Doctor Banner was saying something accusingly to Agent Romanov, while Mister Stark nodded him along — the director went between glaring at Harry and trying to explain himself to the blonde man…</p><p>The overlapping voices became such a great garbled mess that Harry couldn’t tell who was saying what, or what they were saying at all—</p><p>“—<em>SKAWW!! SKAWWW</em>!!” Fawkes spread his large wings out and flapped them, all while letting out a series of loud angry cries. </p><p>Only then did the room return to a modicum of order.</p><p>While still visibly agitated, the large man made an audible effort to lower his voice, “The Hábrók<a href="#_ftn8" id="_ftnref8" name="_ftnref8">[8]</a> speaks true! Acting like squeakers<a href="#_ftn9" id="_ftnref9" name="_ftnref9">[9]</a> squabbling over the first worm of the morning will bring us nowhere!...”</p><p>“Passing over the whole being called a ‘squeaker’ —<em>b-t-dubs </em>kid, Point Break here totally spilled the beans on your bird being the bee’s knees of—”</p><p>“Hábróks are no mere bee! They are creatures of great intelligence and power! They are as rare as they are wondrous; an ever-beacon of light!” The large man turned to face Harry directly, “For this noble bird to have given this youth his allegiance is a rare thing indeed; ‘tis a mark of great honour!” leaving Fawkes (and maybe also Harry) preening at his words.</p><p>The man straightened before puffing out an introduction, “I am Thor, son of Odin.”</p><p>Harry blinked - several times - so shocked was he that he failed to return the greeting, and instead gaped uselessly. Though he was lost to the world, he still managed to hearMister Stark’s voice interject from somewhere in the distance, “<em>Yeah</em>, that’s what I <em>said</em>! I would like to also point out I totally called it on the whole Space-kid SHIELD kidnapped shtick...”</p><p>At that, ‘Thor Odinson’ let out a great holler (as if to prove he was indeed the god of thunder — and knocking Harry out of his stupor), “<em>KIDNAPPED</em>!” — While Director Fury glared at Mister Stark, “No one kidnapped Mr Slytherin!”</p><p>Mister Stark scoffed, “<em>Harry</em>, and <em>sure</em>, just keeping him close by? Doesn’t explain why you didn’t mention he came through the portal just before Loki?” — While <em>Thor</em> studied Harry all the more intently, even crouching slightly to get a better look, though Harry still had to tilt his head upwards to see the entirety of him.</p><p>His eyes landed on Harry’s forehead. Before Harry could so much as attempt to take a step back (and several of the others a step forward), the —<em>god</em>(?) had already raised his hand to gently nudge the Hat slightly back.</p><p>His eyes widened in surprise before flashing in barely contained fury as he rounded on  the director, “Who has dared harm this child!”</p><p>Harry did take several steps back then, while the others attempted to calm the man; “<em>Whoa</em> Big guy! No one has done anything to the kid!” — “No-one hurt me!”</p><p>Fawkes scawed, as if to confirm Harry’s exclamation.</p><p>Thor looked searchingly from Harry to Fawkes before giving them both a nod — though not without sending Director Fury another withering glare.</p><p>“So why is there a powerful galdr<a href="#_ftn10" id="_ftnref10" name="_ftnref10">[10]</a> carved on your forehead?”</p><p>There was a mix of frowns, stares and enquiries of “<em>galdr?</em>” But Harry ignored them, instead looking curiously up at Thor as he ran his finger along the smooth line that was his scar, “My scar? I got it when I was a baby...”</p><p>Thor‘s stare became all the more serious, “T’is a bind rune<a href="#_ftn11" id="_ftnref11" name="_ftnref11">[11]</a>, one comprised of the marks of Balrd and Ullr, calling on great power and protection.”</p><p>Harry’s hand dropped as he stared incredulously, mouth slack; his scar wasn’t from Voldemort... but from his parents?</p><p>As if reading his thoughts, the stare turned sorrowful, Thor hesitant, “For the bind rune to complete and the galdr to activate... a — sacrificial vow needs to be met...”</p><p>Harry shivered</p><p>—and the world exploded.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>=</strong>
</p><p> </p><p><a href="#_ftnref1" id="_ftn1" name="_ftn1">[1]</a> “<em>Powerful wand, very powerful, and in the wrong hands... well, if I'd known what that wand was going out into the world to do</em>...” - Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone</p><p><a href="#_ftnref2" id="_ftn2" name="_ftn2">[2]</a> Part of me has a theory that Ollivander told Dumbledore when someone (Riddle) had bought a wand with Fawkes’ feather as core, but not who. But given that Dumbledore could assume it was one of the first years, either he figured it out on his own, or Ollivander told him later on, when Riddle had become Voldemort, or Dumbles checked the Trace/Ministry Registry to find out it was Riddle… all which only increased Dumbles interest in Riddle</p><p><a href="#_ftnref3" id="_ftn3" name="_ftn3">[3]</a> Somewhat ‘inspired’ by how, in ‘Thor’, Coulson lets ‘Dr Blake’ go with Selvig even though knowing his ID was fake</p><p><a href="#_ftnref4" id="_ftn4" name="_ftn4">[4]</a> Some of you will have picked up on the few changes in the film’s dialogue: it always somewhat bugged me that SHIELD wasn’t listening keeping an eye on Banner (aka the guy who turns into the <em>HULK</em>) and Tony (who is known for having to be watched over) and not over-hear Stark mention hacking into their systems, especially given Steve making such a big deal out of it… and it this case, feel they would be doubly keeping an eye out, with Harry also there - so yeah: no direct mention of Stark/JARVIS hacking into SHIELD</p><p><a href="#_ftnref5" id="_ftn5" name="_ftn5">[5]</a> Obviously changed since then but I even looked this up to have an ‘accurate’ comment; in 2012 two-thirds (68%) of teens had Facebook as their main social media site (and others probably still had an account even if not their main). (In 2018, only 15%.)</p><p><a href="#_ftnref6" id="_ftn6" name="_ftn6">[6]</a> I don’t know enough about the comic books or about Black Sabbath - so don’t know if intentional (i assume so?) but found several of Tony’s favourite band Black Sabbath’s songs rather relevant to the MCU… and this fic; so felt it was rather fitting to have a mention/hint to things to come…</p><p><a href="#_ftnref7" id="_ftn7" name="_ftn7">[7]</a> This small bit with Superman was inspired by one of my favourite Harry Potter-Avengers Crossovers: <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/10668402">Cupboards and Cryogenics</a> by <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/YodelingProspector/pseuds/YodelingProspector">YodelingProspector</a> on AO3 (not sure if also on FF) which I would definitely recommend for those interested in a child!Harry (though a lot younger than the one in this fic) meeting/interacting with the Avengers</p><p> <em>Superboy</em> was a TV series that started in 1988 in the US - going to assume it showed a year later in the UK / The James Bond film would most likely be ‘Licence to Kill’ (1989) when it was released on VHS near the end of the year… For both Superman and LotR, I really do not see Vernon+Petunia allowing any sort of fiction/films/books which deal with anything not ‘normal’/ ‘ordinary’ into their home.</p><p><a href="#_ftnref8" id="_ftn8" name="_ftn8">[8]</a> According to Wiki: In Norse mythology, the Hábrók is the "best of hawks", the term found in a list containing various other names which represent the best of things.</p><p><a href="#_ftnref9" id="_ftn9" name="_ftn9">[9]</a> Baby doves are apparently called ‘squabs’ or ‘squeakers’ - hesitated between using ‘squeakers’ and ‘fledglings’ but ultimately thought it fun for Thor to call the human-ppls in the room (and himself) ‘squeakers’</p><p><a href="#_ftnref10" id="_ftn10" name="_ftn10">[10]</a> Wiki: Galdr (plural galdrar) is one Old Norse word for "spell, incantation"; these were usually performed in combination with certain rites. For more info: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galdr">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galdr</a></p><p><a href="#_ftnref11" id="_ftn11" name="_ftn11">[11]</a>Wiki: A bind rune (Icelandic: bandrún) is a ligature of two or more runes. More info:  <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bind_rune">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bind_rune</a></p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Directly after the explosion</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p> </p>
<p>A huge thank you to Rosaamarilla for looking over this chapter</p>
<p>Also, thank you all so much for all your comments, kudos, general support for this fic.</p>
<p>Some parts of the text in this chapter have been taken from <span class="u">HP&amp; the Chamber of Secrets</span>, <span class="u">HP&amp; the Prisoner of Azkaban</span>, and the ‘The Avengers’ (2012) film</p>
<p> </p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p>
<p>
  <strong>CHAPTER 6</strong>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <strong>-</strong>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p></p><blockquote>
  <p><em>“The trouble is, the other side can do magic too, Prime Minister.”</em> - Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince</p>
</blockquote><p> </p>
<p>
  <strong>-</strong>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>His ears were ringing.</p>
<p>His whole head was <em>ringing</em>. It felt as if he had been hit by several bludgers, one after the other; the Slytherin beaters and Dobby the Elf sending the bludgers relentlessly after him.</p>
<p>It took several moments —<em>several attempts</em>, for Harry to open his eyes...</p>
<p>Only to find himself staring at a continuous, impossible, grey abyss...</p>
<p>It took a few more <em>achingly </em>long blinks to remember where he was... staring at the laboratory ceiling, on the SHIELD flying military ship.</p>
<p>Everything was muffled... as if the whole of the world had been submerged. The most that Harry could properly hear was the sound of his own breathing...</p>
<p>A shadow slid overhead; the small amount of daylight blocked. ‘<em>Thor, son of Odinson</em>’ loomed over him, peering down at him. His lips were moving, clearly saying something. But whatever it was, only garbled echoes reached Harry’s ears...</p>
<p>The ringing eased slowly... to make way for music...</p>
<p>Harry tilted his head ever so slightly, regretting the action almost instantly; pain pierced straight through his skull.</p>
<p>Still, he couldn’t help but feel relief in the next moment as his eyes landed on Fawkes’ bright red-and-gold plumage; an ‘<em>ever-beacon of light</em>’ indeed.</p>
<p>Thor spoke again, calling Harry’s attention back to the huge man-god. While he still couldn’t make out Thor’s words, they did seem to be getting clearer, less muted than before...</p>
<p>“—<em>ou hear me</em>? Are you well Young Harrý?”</p>
<p>Harry let out a long groan, “’m... fine...” though his words were betrayed by his wince in the next moment when he tried to lift his upper body from the floor. Thor’s large hand pressed gently but firmly against his shoulder, interrupting any further ascension.</p>
<p>With a small huff, Harry propped himself up by his shoulder and arms, only lifting his head the smallest amount. He glanced at Thor, preparing to ask what had happened... The lab was in absolute <em>chaos</em>. There was broken glass and parts from various machines scattered everywhere. One of the machines actually smoked-and-fizzed before its blinking lights flickered out entirely. The walls were marked by an explosion, shrapnel embedded within them.</p>
<p>The only thing that appeared to have survived unscathed was the staff, although it was now on the floor rather than on the main table. Not that Harry had any intention of getting any closer to it or picking it up...</p>
<p>Though looking at it reminded him of the discussion with the Hat... that talk  felt like it had happened a lifetime ago...  Harry let out a heavy sigh; he had never managed to warn the others about the staff, and now this had happened —<em>was</em> happening—</p>
<p>Another voice grabbed Harry’s attention. He turned his head — and there was Director Fury, the only other adult who he could still see around, speaking into his earpiece... for him to exit the room with only a brief glance to Thor and Harry.</p>
<p>Harry peeked back at Thor. Even the Norse god looked grim, his eyes trailing from where Fury had disappeared back down to where Harry lay.</p>
<p>Harry opened his mouth, ready to reaffirm he was fine... And yet, somehow, he ended up asking, “W’ere’s Mjöln-r... —w’ere’s your ‘ammer?” (Something he might have been thinking about ever since the god had introduced himself...)</p>
<p>At least the question erased some of the sombreness etched into Thor’s face. With a small smile, he promised, “When this matter is resolved I will show Mjölnir to you. But first, I need to make sure my brother does not—”</p>
<p>—A huge roar resonated through the whole space. Tremors reverberated through the floor beneath him, doing worse than nothing to alleviate the ringing still going on in Harry’s head… black pulsated across his vision in time with the ringing in his ears and the beating of his heart, until black was all that he could see.</p>
<p>Belatedly, he realized that his eyes were closed once more...</p>
<p>He cracked open his eyes and was witness to Thor looking very much like the regal god of thunder, ready to smite whatever foe  came his way... —and who also happened to glance down at Harry, a worried frown once more etched into his face...</p>
<p>“<em>’O...</em> <em>G</em>-o help, I will b’ <em>fine</em>.”</p>
<p>The god didn’t need telling twice. Harry felt the floor shake, daylight returning to his pupils. The next time he opened his eyes, Thor was gone.</p>
<p>Harry’s eyes met Fawkes’ instead. Impossibly black eyes bore straight into him, seeming to pierce his very soul and lay bare his hurts. The phoenix let out a soft quavering trill that went through the whole of Harry —only for the music to be rudely interrupted by another roar invading the whole of the laboratory (and possibly even the whole of the <em>ship</em>).</p>
<p>Fawkes gave a cry as he turned to where the roar had come from, his wings puffing in agitation.</p>
<p>Eyes back on the phoenix, Harry mumbled, “you should go too, Fawkes. They will need you —<em>you</em> can help.” Honestly, he wondered if he should also do something to help with whatever was happening. He had helped the director in the secret lab after all.</p>
<p>Fawkes let out several affronted coos — before a third deafening bellow yet again interrupted any possible further protest from the phoenix.</p>
<p>And yet, Fawkes was <em>still</em> hesitant, letting out a small, uncertain trill.</p>
<p>“I’ll be <em>fine</em>... besides, the Hat is with me,” Harry reassured him.  </p>
<p>Fawkes gave him a final note - one that went straight through him - then spread his wings wide... and he took off, his tail ever so softly brushing against Harry’s cheek.</p>
<p>Harry followed him with his eyes, until the phoenix disappeared from view... and a few beats more...</p>
<p>Maybe he should—</p>
<p>‘<em>There is no need to put yourself in an unnecessary amount of danger, Harry. The ship is full of men and women whose job it is to deal with outside threats: who deal with this sort of situation for a living.</em>’</p>
<p>Harry let his head drop back down. He took several long, deep breaths, staring  back up at the ceiling, making no move to get up, as if to prove his compliance... Still, he doubted they had ever come across a situation quite like this one before...</p>
<p>Half of those in the room hadn’t even known about the Krees, and the Flerkens, and the Skrulls...</p>
<p>And the only one who appeared to possibly know anything about Loki was Thor... Even if he seemed to think the other god was his brother for some reason.</p>
<p>‘<em>Something to ask him when you next see him</em>’, was the Hat’s only reply.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <strong>-</strong>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Harry’s eyes opened slowly.</p>
<p>There was barely any sound around him. Despite all of the wreckage indicating a loud past, the laboratory was shrouded in an eerie calm now... even as cries - sounds of guns - sounds of explosions - continued from further away...</p>
<p>He wasn’t sure how long he had stayed there; just laying on the floor surrounded by debris. At  least the ringing in his ears had all but disappeared—</p>
<p>‘<em>Do not move.</em>’</p>
<p>Body stiffening, Harry realised what had called his attention, what had made him open his eyes: the Hat. The Hat had whispered his name, calling him...</p>
<p>A shadow moved in the corner of his eye, and the Hat whispered another warning to stay as still as possible...</p>
<p>...</p>
<p>... Several l beats passed in utter silence, not a breath taken...</p>
<p>...</p>
<p>... Soft scrapes echoed against the cluttered floor...</p>
<p>...</p>
<p>... And the shadow glided back out of the room...</p>
<p>...</p>
<p>Harry shifted ever so slightly... his gaze locked on the retreating form.</p>
<p>It was Loki.</p>
<p>Though his back was to Harry, and his form more incorporeal than solid, Harry was certain it was the other god (the outfit was a dead giveaway).</p>
<p>And the most damning evidence of all: the just-as-translucent staff in his hand.</p>
<p>Dread pooled through Harry at the sight —along with resolve. He wasn’t sure what he should do - what he <em>could</em> do - but he <em>had</em> to do <em>something</em>.</p>
<p>‘<em>Your cloak Harry</em>.’</p>
<p>At least the Hat wasn’t trying to dissuade him for a second time —or perhaps he knew there was nothing he could say that would change Harry’s mind.</p>
<p>Harry straightened himself, brushing off the pieces of glass and metal that clung to his robes - thankfully few - and quickly pulled out his cloak from the Hat. With a practiced ease, it wrapped around his shoulders, the soft material’s weight comforting...</p>
<p>... And off he went, in the direction Loki had gone.</p>
<p>‘<em>Have care, Harry; The element of surprise is your greatest ally, but once used it is lost.</em>’</p>
<p>Catching up to the god proved easy. It helped that Loki didn’t seem to be in a hurry, nor rushed for time in any way. The god appeared to be sauntering —<em>gliding</em>, unperturbed by the wreckage wrought even in the hallways... the cries and explosions echoing around them...</p>
<p>Still, heeding to the Hat’s warning, Harry made sure to remain several steps behind him. He avoided any and all broken pieces of glass or metal, keeping his clasp on the cloak secure with his left hand, while his right held his wand at the ready...</p>
<p>...</p>
<p>... Until finally, they seemed to have reached their destination...</p>
<p>Voices could be heard from within, not loud... or agitated — but rather... calm and controlled...</p>
<p>There was something about the voice…</p>
<p>A cry rang through the space —and a second voice spoke: <em>Agent Coulson</em>...</p>
<p>Yet for some reason, that recognition was not a comfort. Instead, it made Harry’s hair stand on end and his shoulders tense...</p>
<p>Moving from behind Loki and into the space, he turned the corner... and was granted  a clear view of Thor in some sort of huge glass tank, like those in zoos.</p>
<p>But the god was paying no mind to the incorporeal Loki. His attention was focused solely on Agent Coulson, whose back faced Loki and Harry, pointing a huge gun at... —<em>another Loki</em>.</p>
<p>Harry tensed, adrenaline dousing through him. <em>Something</em> was about to happen, and he needed to be ready<em>. </em>.</p>
<p>Somewhere in the back of his mind, the Hat was whispering something about ‘<em>an illusion of himself</em>’, ‘<em>trickery for the mundane agents</em>’, as Harry’s eyes went from the ‘solid Loki’ facing Agent Coulson, his hands raised in submission... to the transparent one holding the staff. It was then that he noticed the subtle aura(?) of the other Loki: his ‘edges’ were not as fine — as crisp... like a photograph that hadn’t been properly taken, or properly developed...</p>
<p>The illusion (if that’s what it was) was definitely serving its purpose: Agent Coulson was oblivious to the Loki coming up behind him...</p>
<p>...</p>
<p>Harry knew what was going to happen next —even before Loki started raising the staff. His own hand rose quickly (thankfully Loki wasn’t in any kind of rush to stab the agent) and —“<em>Experliarmus</em>!”</p>
<p>Unlike what had happened to Lockhart and his wand though, the staff failed to fly out of Loki’s grip. It only loosened... Just enough to be diverted from its intended target, to pierce Agent Coulson in the side rather than back — the stab all the more evident by the agent’s gasp of pain... —and echoed by a cry from Thor.</p>
<p>The agent fell to the ground with a heavy thud; the staff left with a streak of red on its blade.</p>
<p>Not that Harry could pay Agent Coulson much attention. His cloak was probably the only thing that protected him from Loki unleashing his wrath — and staff — on him. Even now, Loki swerved round, searching for the caster...</p>
<p>Harry quickly but quietly moved to the right of where Loki was looking, taking  a tiny breath... and pointing his wand at the ready... —‘<em>Petrificus Totalus</em>!’ crying out the spell with as much muster as he could manage.</p>
<p>While Loki’s arms didn’t snap to the side of his body nor did he fall, as Neville had last year, Loki did freeze mid-stride...</p>
<p>Harry eyed the motionless form warily...</p>
<p>He waited for a long breath, ready for something to happen...</p>
<p>For Loki to move...</p>
<p>‘<em>It will not hold him for so long... possibly even less so with whatever influence the staff possesses...</em>’, the Hat warned, speaking the words Harry had just figured out for himself.</p>
<p>He moved closer, and uttered a second disarming charm.</p>
<p>With no small amount of relief, the staff flew from Loki’s frozen grip to land not several inches from Harry’s feet.</p>
<p>However close it was though, Harry dared not touch it. Instead he thought it best to send a second body-bind curse on the still stationary god of mischief. While his body still didn’t snap together, Harry was sure it stiffened further, Loki looking even more like a living statue. He could only hope this meant the spell would hold for a while. (Hermione’s spell on Neville had apparently held most of the night… Up until Percy had come down to the common room and found Neville lying on the floor. The prefect had quickly released him from the spell, all while thinking it had been the result of a nasty prank from the twins. His following talk with Hermione - and Harry and Ron - about casting dangers and responsibilities had been the worst part of the Leaving Feast.)</p>
<p>Only then, with a heavy sigh, did Harry dare to look back to the staff. Still wary of touching it, he pointed his wand at it, “<em>Wingardium Leviosa</em>!” (making sure to make the ‘<em>gar</em>’ nice and long, Hermione’s voice in his ear).</p>
<p>The staff rose... and rose... and Harry guided it with his wand, willing it to rise even higher, as he moved it to hover over the large glass cylinder holding Thor...</p>
<p>Only once fully on top of the cylinder did Harry let go of his hold. The staff fell with it, a clank resonating through the space...</p>
<p>A groan, quickly followed by a sputter had Harry’s head snapping to the right —to where Agent Coulson was; half-sitting, half-slumped against the wall.</p>
<p>Harry rushed over, slipping the cloak off of his head.</p>
<p>He all but ignored the agent’s own widening stare and soft gasp... or the cry of surprise from the glass tank... —or the heavy stare on his back...</p>
<p>The staff had definitely still cut a deep gash, altered trajectory or not. Agent Coulson had removed his jacket to press it against the wound, but a pool of red still covered a good portion of the lower left of his shirt along with the jacket...</p>
<p>He gave the agent a look, really not wanting him to use his energy on useless talk about Harry’s cloak... or his magic in general. Thankfully the agent seemed to be able and willing to hold all the questions clear in the gleam of his eyes for later...</p>
<p>Harry crouched down closer, the Hat there and at the ready, ‘<em>Take a deep breath Harry. There are two spells that you should be able to cast that should help until he can be properly looked over</em>...’</p>
<p>Harry took a deep breath - and gave a nod...</p>
<p>The sounds around him seemed to switch off as the Hat started talking once more:</p>
<p>‘<em>Deep breaths Harry... First, I want you to point your wand at the wound and say</em> ‘Tergeo’ <em>in a slow but precise motion, following the whole length of the wound</em>... <em>Your wand doesn’t need to touch the wound, but you will need to get close to it...’</em></p>
<p>As he listened to the Hat, Harry moved closer to the agent, pointing his wand at the gash-</p>
<p>
  <em>‘This is a cleaning charm. It will remove any possible residue from the blade; magical artefacts are in general all the more dangerous to the mundane, as they have nothing to combat any possible lingering magic. Whatever adverse affects the staff could have - if any - this spell should hopefully keep at bay the most pressing of risks...'</em>
</p>
<p>Harry indicated to Agent Coulson to move his hand...</p>
<p>‘<em>Slow breath... and then</em> ‘Tergeo’: Ter-<em>ge</em>-oooh<em>... Slow but steady...</em>’</p>
<p>Harry repeated the spell out loud, and the Hat gave him the go-ahead...</p>
<p>He pointed his wand pointing at the top of the wound... Willing his hand not to shake, Harry half-cried out, half-sang, “<em>Ter-ge-ooo</em>” as he followed the whole length of the wound, just as the Hat had instructed...</p>
<p>.... The blood slowly disappeared as he went... from both the wound and the clothes...</p>
<p>... Agent Coulson sat frozen, his hand still holding the jacket he had moved out of the way, his mouth closed. If not for his eyes - his eyes moving between the wound, Harry, and his wand; trying to catch every detail of what Harry was doing - you would have thought Harry had cast the body-bind curse on him as well...</p>
<p>… Once the spell was completed, the Hat insisted Harry repeat the charm a second time in order to completely rid the area of any blood stains and debris...</p>
<p>The Hat gave brief but heartfelt praise, and Harry found himself letting out the long breath he hadn’t even realised he was holding...</p>
<p>And then, with only that brief respite, the Hat was already calling to him once more, ready to instruct the second part: ‘<em>the bandage charm</em>’. It was apparently - thankfully - supposed to be easier.</p>
<p>Once more the Hat repeated both spell and movement to Harry a couple times, all while reassuring he was doing great. And then, the Hat was guiding him and, as he had been instructed, Harry imagined clean, pure-white bandages all while he once more followed the length of the wound, crying out ‘<em>Ferula</em>’ (the spell more a sharp order than a song) —</p>
<p>Bandages suddenly appeared out of nowhere, to envelop most of Coulson’s torso tightly... </p>
<p>The relief was short-lived as the next moment the Hat yelled  a warning, and Harry felt a shadow slide over him, blocking out the artificial light. He knew he didn’t have a chance to react in time —</p>
<p>—<em>Boom</em>!</p>
<p>Harry looked up —</p>
<p>And instinctively pulled back;</p>
<p>Agent Coulson was holding the large gun... which was still <em>smoking</em>...</p>
<p>Eyes wide, incredulous and apprehensive, Harry followed its trajectory to the other half of the room...</p>
<p><em>Or really</em>: what was <em>left</em> of the other side of the room.</p>
<p>Just like in the lab, the gun’s explosive detonation had left devastation in its wake: the control table all but destroyed, pieces of metal embedded in the floors and walls... But the focus was the large hole on in the walls facing them...</p>
<p>A grunt came from it.</p>
<p>Only then did Harry realise Loki’s frozen form was no longer where he had left it.</p>
<p>There was a clank and a small groan from his right; the gun proving too heavy, Agent Coulson had dropped it by his side. The agent definitely looked like he had seen better days, but at least the bandages seemed to be holding... if for a bit of red slowly dampening the pristine white...</p>
<p>Harry quickly got to his feet, his wand pointing once more to the hole, where he could hear shifting— <em>bang!</em></p>
<p>His head snapped to his left: <em>Thor</em>... with Mjölnir.</p>
<p>A small crack was visible on the inside of the glass, where he had already clearly swung the hammer (probably more than once) against the tank, trying to break it.</p>
<p>Keeping aware of the noises coming from the hole in the wall, Harry pointed his wand at the fissure Thor had already made, but on the other side of the glass, “<em>diffindo</em>!”</p>
<p>There was the expected beam of light — a sharp ‘<em>crunch</em>’ sound... Harry couldn’t help but feel deflated when he noticed how small his own splinter was in the thick glass wall. It was definitely a lot smaller as he had been expecting (<em>hoping</em>)...</p>
<p>Not that he had a chance to cast a second one. There was a series of groans, a shifting and scraping against the floor, and Harry diverted his attention once more to the hole.</p>
<p>‘<em>The glass is too thick, and has most likely been strengthened by something. Even with the both of you working together, I wouldn’t chance you having enough time before Loki comes through</em>,’ the Hat stated, voicing Harry’s worries.</p>
<p>He tightened his grip on his wand, pointing it fully toward the hole, and wondered what he should do...</p>
<p>‘<em>Your</em> cloak,’ the Hat reminded him.</p>
<p>Harry quickly covered himself once more in the cloak, suppressing a curse.</p>
<p>The Hat continued, ‘...<em>you cannot do this alone Harry.</em>’</p>
<p>‘<em>What do you suggest?!</em>’ Harry couldn’t help but think in frustrated panic—</p>
<p>Another ‘<em>bong</em>!’ echoed through the room from Thor swinging his hammer at the crack, still trying to get out.</p>
<p>And Fawkes was Merlin knows where, helping somewhere else — where the huge roars had come from...</p>
<p>‘<em>Mr Malfoy’s spell from the duel: </em>‘Serpensortia’.’</p>
<p><em>‘What</em>?’ Harry blinked. His mind went to the duel and the snake Malfoy had summoned...</p>
<p>‘<em>It’s not too complex ‘</em>Mr Slytherin’<em>; you merely move your wand in the motion of an uppercase ‘S’, while thinking of a snake; The more precise the image, the better. It is a spell partial to parselmouths, which can only be good for you.</em>’</p>
<p>But Harry’s mind had left the duel, Malfoy, and the black snake… and moved to the basilisk Tom Riddle had set on him...</p>
<p>‘<em>Are - are you sure?</em>’</p>
<p>‘<em>Any offensive spell you cast directly will give away your position almost instantly. It is best to divide his attention as much as possible...</em>’</p>
<p>Harry gave a nod, and cried out, ‘<em>Serpensortia</em>!’</p>
<p>And then, just like in the duel, a snake shot out of Harry’s wand. It was far from the basilisk, but it was definitely larger than the one Malfoy had summoned... If anything, it was comparable to the boa Harry had freed in the zoo.</p>
<p>‘<em>I believe this one is a ball python rather than a boa constrictor,</em>’ the Hat supplied, as the snake -<em>python-</em> hissed, rearing back and ready to attack... — only to pause in the next moment as it failed to sense any nearby threat.</p>
<p>The python swerved, somehow knowing where Harry stood, hidden beneath his cloak... and shot a questioning look  up at Harry.</p>
<p>
  <em>~~Umm, there - there’s a man... through the hole in the wall...~~</em>
</p>
<p>The snake hissed, turned back, looked to the hole and flicked out his forked tongue, smelling the air — just as Loki stepped out of it.</p>
<p>He was much less put together than before; his eyes glanced around... and fixated on the snake-<em>python</em>...</p>
<p>But instead of doing anything to it, or even having the decency to look threatened by it, Loki just smiled with his teeth... Even as the python (at least three feet) started slithering closer, hissing threateningly...</p>
<p>Eyes tracking the span of the room, he called out, “You are the youth who arrived through the portal before I did — with a Hábrók.” His eyes went round the room a second time, as if searching  for Fawkes.</p>
<p>“Allow me to speculate... He went to aid with the monster. I do sense a certain...<em> lack</em> of mayhem and destruction... I will give credit, where credit is due: your skills are nothing to scoff at —<em>impressive</em> even, especially for one so young... What are you eleven... twelve...?”</p>
<p>He let the question drag, waiting for a reply...</p>
<p>“... But you still have much to learn. — <em>I</em> could teach you; make you <em>great</em>... You are not from this back-water realm. You owe these mortals <em>nothing</em>. Why don’t you put down your small wooden staff... and pull off your shroud. You and I both know you have no hope of winning against me...” His eyes roamed for a third time across the span of the room, before looking back down to the snake once more. He gave a small chuckle, “As remarkable as your illusion is, near life-like, do you really think it is a matc—<em>Ahhh</em>!”</p>
<p>Loki had swung his hand forward, as if to cancel the illusion. And yet, with the motion, he had brought his hand closer to the snake, too close to the snake —and it <em>struck</em>, fangs sinking into the palm of his hand.</p>
<p>A sense of satisfaction ran through Harry—</p>
<p>Only for Loki to quickly get over his surprise. He grabbed the three foot snake with ease —and hurled it across the room. The snake hit the wall with a deafening thud.</p>
<p>Harry's heart stopped...</p>
<p>A small sense of grateful relief ran through him not two beats later, as a string of soft angry hisses came from the fallen form; bruised and defeated, but at least the snake was still alive.</p>
<p>As for Loki, only a sharp red mark that covered most of his palm was proof of where the snake had bit, as if it was but a scratch.</p>
<p>Eyes narrowed, the god once more scanned around the room... At least he didn’t look as cool and unbothered as before. A win was a win, no matter how insignificant. </p>
<p>Not to mention, the continued banging every so often coming from the tank was surely a reminder that help was close —only a glass wall away. Harry was even tempted to send another <em>diffindo</em> to the glass. Only to remind himself (along with the Hat) that it would do more bad than good, giving away his position...</p>
<p>“Who are you?... You are not one of the Aesir.” — as he spoke his visage seemed to  flutter - quiver... and Loki split in two... one still in front of Harry, while the other - a similar ghost-like form to the one who had retrieved the staff - went towards the tank — towards the staff...</p>
<p>—“<em>Diffindo!</em>”</p>
<p>The two Lokis merged back into one, as the god was jerked back with a sharp cry... yet still very much on his feet.</p>
<p>All the more agitated, he swerved round, an angry red cut prominent on his right cheek; yet he was looking in Harry’s direction, though thankfully not quite...</p>
<p>As Harry carefully moved to the side, Loki started looking around once more... his movements not as wide as before —</p>
<p>“Who <em>are</em> you?” His voice was angrier — <em>demanding</em>. “You carry the marks of Baldr and Ullr - yet you are neither from Asgard or Álfheimr. My father would have had you training with the Einherjar as soon as you were walking and talking—”</p>
<p>“Óðinn is <em>not</em> your father!” Harry couldn’t help but retort —for him to tense realising his mistake; Loki was staring straight at him, cloak or not, his voice having revealed his location—</p>
<p>“<em>Wait</em>! - You’re half-<em>Jötunn</em>!”</p>
<p>This second exclamation caught Loki off guard - just enough time for Harry to cry out ‘<em>Incendio</em>’ and for flames to streak out of his wand, heading straight for Loki—</p>
<p>Although the god gave out a second cry of surprise, he was able to swiftly avoid the worst of the conjured flames — </p>
<p>Harry tried the body-bind once more... for it to fizzle in as Loki waved his hand at it, all while moving closer—</p>
<p>Harry sent another <em>diffindo</em> to him —</p>
<p>“Your tricks won’t work a second time — they only did so the first time by pure <em>luck</em>. I assure you it will not happen again. — <em>Now</em>; <em>Who</em> are you?” The question coming out more as a demand, clearly he was used to being answered when asking anything, as he easily manoeuvred  out of the spell’s way...</p>
<p>And then Loki was right there in front of him — ripping the cloak off Harry’s head and growling, “<em>Who</em> - <em>are - you?</em>” — He slapped his palm flat against Harry’s forehead —</p>
<p>—<em>there was a man’s voice, shouting, panicking —</em></p>
<p>
  <em>“Lily, take Harry and go! It’s him! Go! Run! I’ll hold him off —”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>The sounds of someone stumbling from a room — a door bursting open — a cackle of high-pitched laughter —</em>
</p>
<p><em>And then he heard it</em>... <em>Someone was screaming... a woman...</em></p>
<p>
  <em>“Not Harry, not Harry, please not Harry!”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Stand aside, you silly girl... stand aside, now...”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Not Harry, please no, take me, kill me instead —”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Not Harry! Please... have mercy... have mercy...”</em>
</p>
<p><em>A shrill voice was laughing </em>—<em> the woman was screaming </em>—</p>
<p>And Harry knew no more.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <strong>-</strong>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“<em>NOOOOOO</em>!” Thor yelled for the thousandth time that morning, his throat going raw, as he watched the youth — Harrý - fall.</p>
<p>He swung Mjölnir once more, willing it to <em>break</em> this glass prison, to reach both boy and Loki...</p>
<p>Loki who was blinking down at the fallen child, face uncomprehending, “... <em>A seidr</em>,” the whisper so low Thor nearly missed it.</p>
<p>“WHAT?” He couldn’t help but growl, having misheard. Loki always had the art for pulling you in...</p>
<p>But Loki ignored him. His eyes continued to fix on the youth... a smile broke across his face, “Now this has just gotten <em>interesting</em>; a <em>seidr</em>.”</p>
<p>Thor’s arm halted mid-motion.</p>
<p>He had not misheard.</p>
<p>Only then did Loki look up to stare straight at him through the glass, his grin only widening further, “who would have thought...”</p>
<p>He took a step forward... and another…</p>
<p>His fingers trailed the crack Harrý had made on the outside of the cage, “And the tales said the seidrs had all died gruesome deaths. It seems the AllFather didn’t kill all of them... nor was he the only one hunting them down. <em>Well</em>... just another <em>lie</em> from the AllFather I suppose.”</p>
<p>Thor could only watch as he reached up overhead... retrieving the staff —</p>
<p>Thor sung Mjölnir, doubling down in his effort to break the glass — hitting it over and over again —even as Loki slung the child over his shoulder — and picked up Harrý’s own wooden staff — and covered the shroud over both the boy and himself...</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Right after the Helicarrier Battle</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>A huge thank you to Rosaamarilla (ao3) for having a quick look over parts this chapter (and for having a read through all the previous ones)</p><p>Also, thank you all so much for all your comments, kudos, general support for this fic.</p><p>Apologies that there was a time gap between the last chapter and this one: unfortunately, as it does, life got in the way.</p><p>A few notes with regards to the events of the last chapter and a few comments from readers:</p><p>First: Thor and the glass cage (and why he wasn’t able to break it): I didn’t want Thor to ‘interrupt’/be part of the fight - this was Harry’s ‘confrontation’ with Loki (plus feel that Harry and Thor together would have had the upper hand on Loki). On the other hand I did want Thor to be present/or really I wanted someone, a witness - ideally an Avenger - to be present other than Coulson who goes unconscious half-way through. Also, in the film, it does take a few hits for Thor to break through the glass as he is falling, and he also has the momentum on his side during the fall. I’m going to also go with the argument that the glass is stranger/more resistant when still linked up/powered up to the Helicarrier.</p><p>Second: For how Harry revealed himself to Loki in the last chapter, crying out Odin not being Loki’s father: To be perfectly honest, I’m not all that happy with it either, but I couldn’t find another/better reason which would have revealed Harry to Loki, for Loki to then subdue and take him with him =&gt; the 2 things I really wanted was Loki doing the mind-attack on Harry and Harry somehow ending up in NY for the big battle. If you believe you have a better suggestion as to how Harry should have revealed himself to Loki, please share/let me know.</p><p>Some parts of the text in this chapter have been taken from <span class="u">HP&amp; the Prisoner of Azkaban</span>, <span class="u">HP&amp; the Goblet of Fire</span>, and the ‘The Avengers’ (2012) film</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>CHAPTER 7</strong>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>-</p><p> </p>
<p></p><blockquote>
  <p>“Harry — yer a wizard.” - <span class="u">Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone</span></p>
</blockquote><p> </p><p>-</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They were on the bridge, around the table - </span>
  <em>
    <span>again</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>Though this time there was tale-tell signs of the attack all around them. Even the table wasn’t without several marks of damage.</p><p>Name-confused Triple Agent wasn’t there, though.</p><p>Nor was Banner.</p><p>“Any news on Doctor Banner?” Rogers called out to Fury’s better looking double, as if reading his mind.</p><p>The agent shook her head, “Both the Hulk and the Hab—the space bird are MIA. Doubt we’ll be picking them up anywhere soon; most of the systems are still down. We’re still trying to figure out the extent of Barton’s attack on the servers. And then there’s the bird. It did something to the room where it... <em>disappeared</em>.”</p><p>‘Fawkes’ had done <em>something</em> alright.</p><p>Footage showed the bird spanning its wing, hopping-dancing around the Hulk, singing, keeping his attention on it. The green giant hadn’t minded it like it had literally everything else. Next a great amount of static started to cover the whole of the feed, as the bird flew to the Hulk and grabbed hold of him — for a great burst of light to completely blind any sort of visual. The feed completely switched off seconds later.</p><p>When it had finally come back online, several bulbs and wires had visibly exploded or short-circuited, while neither bird nor Hulk were anywhere in sight.</p><p>Not that the footage in the containment chamber had been much better. Tony’s eyes (and heart) hurt (in horror) at the amount of static every time the kid dared wave his <em>wand</em>. (Point Break might call in a ‘<em>gangnam-time</em>’<a href="#_ftn1" id="_ftnref1" name="_ftnref1">[1]</a>, the stick looked and acted like a freakin ‘<em>Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo</em> and Cinderella has a pumpkin-carriage and sparkly dress’ <em>wand</em>.)</p><p>To be fair to the space-bird, it had probably saved SHIELD from a lot more destruction at the hands of the Hulk.</p><p>At least Romanoff and Thor had seen the bird do its disappearing act directly.</p><p>A ‘great big ball of fire’ was how Romanoff had described it.</p><p>Point Break had gone into another lyrical monologue about how the bird had swooped in and saved the day. Tony was actually slightly concerned for the bird in how much Thor was fan-boying on it <em>hard</em>. Hopefully Asgardians weren’t prone to bestiality<a href="#_ftn2" id="_ftnref2" name="_ftnref2">[2]</a>, or someone should definitely warn the kid to keep his bird away from that particular planet. —</p><p>Movement in the corner of his eye brought Tony back to the here and now; Fury was back.</p><p>“How’s Agent Coulson?” Boy-scout Rogers asked, once more at the ready.</p><p>Fury’s jaw clenched so much it was noticeable (<em>surprise</em>, <em>surprise</em>, it wasn’t Tony pushing his buttons this time round). In and of itself was a definite tell to how rattled the man was, “Alive and stable.”</p><p>“All thanks to the kid.”</p><p>Fury’s eyes flicked to him, while Captain Boy-scout gave Tony an actual nod.</p><p>“Speaking of which,” Tony swerved to Point Break, who had been quiet this whole time. —<em>Well</em>, quiet apart from whispering sickeningly sweet words of praise to the snake in his arms, talking softly to it as one would a cute puppy, not a huge fucking four-and-a-half foot python, telling him he was a true and noble example of his race to have fought and survived his brother. “What the hell is a <em>seidr</em>? —And what the hell was that <em>s-fhf-th</em> hissing thing Harry was doing?”</p><p>Tony actually heard Rogers mumble something about ‘language’, but he kept his focus on the god.</p><p>Looking up from the snake, Thor answered the second question, “T’was the Noble tongue of Naðr<a href="#_ftn3" id="_ftnref3" name="_ftnref3">[3]</a>.”</p><p><em>Whose noble tongue</em>?</p><p>“Nahder?” Rogers’ look of utter bewilderment echoed Tony’s own thoughts (not that he would ever confirm it). “Is that where seidrs come from?”</p><p>Thor actually gave a chuckle then, “Nay! <em>Naðr</em>: t’is the language of the dragon-serpent species Níðhöggr<a href="#_ftn4" id="_ftnref4" name="_ftnref4">[4]</a>. In ancient times it was said they bred with Celestials and created the people of Nithafjoll; half-men, half-serpent<a href="#_ftn5" id="_ftnref5" name="_ftnref5">[5]</a>.”</p><p>Tony blinked, “<em>Right</em>... more on that later” — and Tony <em>definitely</em> wanted to more on that later. First though;</p><p>“What about the whole a kid waved a stick about and ‘<em>Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo</em>’, Loki becomes a living statue - Agent-Agent is cleaned and gift wrapped - a snake appears,” the comment completed with a nod to the huge bloody thing Point Break was still absently petting while listening to Tony. “— And let’s not even get into the whole thing with that cloak he wiped out of his hat.” That was not freaking <em>physically</em> <em>possible</em>! Tony’s head hurt just thinking about it.</p><p>Not that he wasn’t <em>definitely</em> going to have a look at that cloak when they found Rock of Ages and the kid. The thing was a thousand times better than any hologram he had developed for his suits. — That and the <em>bending-laws-of-physics-left-and-right</em> stick and hat.</p><p>Fury gave a sharp nod of agreement. And wasn’t that a shock and a half; One-eyed Long John Silver somehow also agreeing with Tony.</p><p>This day was really one for the books.</p><p>Then again, SHIELD would obviously be interested in looking at the kid’s possessions. Tony was definitely going to be on the lookout for any funny business from Fury or Romanoff.</p><p>“Loki called him a ‘seidr’: who are they?”</p><p>If at all possible, Thor turned more sombre, “They are—<em>were</em> said to all being gone.”</p><p>“Gone?” Tony raised an eyebrow, looking pointedly at him. Loki had been rather blunt in what had happened to them.</p><p>“... killed.”</p><p>“Killed by whom?”</p><p>Thor shifted some, “... you have to understand, t’ was many ages past... before I was even born; Over thousands of years ago for a mortal from Miðgarðr.”</p><p>“Yeah - yeah, thousands of years have passed, things changed, Dorothy came back from Oz — let’s get on to the part where a kid can make snakes appear out of thin air and freeze gods.”</p><p>Thor glared at him, but Tony couldn’t care less, right now more than ever.</p><p>There was a beat.</p><p>A second one.</p><p>And... Thunder-guy finally huffed, “You first have to understand that magic... mystical powers — energy comes in many forms across the Nine Realms and even beyond. One of the main sources is that of the worlds themselves. All beings are linked to the powers of their realm, and are able, in varying degree and mode to reach said powers. — In the case of the Nine Realms, any can draw from the powers of the Yggdrasill Tree.”</p><p>
  <em>Umm, say what?</em>
</p><p>“Are you saying we all have magical powers?” Fury’s shadow interrupted, her eyebrow raised with great scepticism.</p><p>Thor huffed in frustration for a second time, “we are all tied to Yggdrasill. The way it manifests itself within each of us depends on the being and his origins. It is believed, with regards to the...” the god searched for a word, for him to come out with, “<em>lesser developed</em> realms that the powers are usually focused on one particular aspect – or element: fire for Múspellsheimr, ice for Jötunheimr, stone for Niðavellir and air for Miðgarðr, and with varying degree.”</p><p>“And how are things for the ‘<em>more developed</em>’ realms?” Tony asked sardonically.</p><p>Chest puffing, Thor readily answered, “Those of the Vanir and the Æsir have more expansive powers, as they are able to draw a greater amount from Yggdrasill. There is also if you prove yourself worthy. Novices of the Æsir wade through in the waters of Körmt and Örmt to prove themselves to Yggdrasill’s judgement. If successful, they become more in tune with the powers of the Nine Realms and any particular power Yggdrasill deem them worthy to possess. Likewise, those of the Vanir trudge through the Kerlaugar<a href="#_ftn6" id="_ftnref6" name="_ftnref6">[6]</a>, the Jötunn have Mímisbrunnr, Álfheimr the Urðarbrunnr, and Niflheim has Hvergelmir. There are also those across the Nine Realms, who drink from one of the Élivágar<a href="#_ftn7" id="_ftnref7" name="_ftnref7">[7]</a>, o prove their worth or just to be more in tune to the powers of Yggdrasill, oft’time at their own peril. Just as maidens who are with-child eat fruit from Mímameiðr, in hopes that the babe receives a greater connection to any powers entrusted upon them.<a href="#_ftn8" id="_ftnref8" name="_ftnref8">[8]</a>”</p><p>The snake hissed something, for Thor’s chest (if possible) to puff out even more, “<em>Aye</em>; I trudged through Körmt and Örmt, as well as the Kerlaugar and was granted the powers of lighting, thunder, storms and strength.</p><p>“Of course the most arduous of trials is that of Alföðr. The contender is bound directly to the Yggdrasil for nine long days and nights. If successful, it enhances his connection all the much closer to not only the Æsir but Yggdrasill as a whole.” The statement finishing with the guy looking out in the distance wistfully, as if he was actually looking forward to the day he would be tied up to a tree for nine days.<a href="#_ftn9" id="_ftnref9" name="_ftnref9">[9]</a></p><p>There was a cough, for Tree-and-Animal-Lover to return the here and now. His face turned grim, “Then there are also those who are able use powers from beyond their realm... Powers bestowed by otherworldly entities. — But such powers oft’ come at a heavy price; more oft’ than not a promise or sacrifice is demanded in exchange.</p><p>“But even then, the caster needs training. Achieving specific magical effects requires knowledge of words, gestures, writing or rituals of some sort. Others may even require training in the use of relics and other items imbued with power, to call upon the object’s energy,” his eyes going to his hammer, shining in reverence at it.</p><p>That was, before his face turned sombre seconds later. “Though there are those of the Æsir and Vanir who are capable of solely relying on mental concentration in order to practice their mystical abilities.”<a href="#_ftn10" id="_ftnref10" name="_ftnref10">[10]</a></p><p>Tony was sure these Asgardians and Vanirians included Loki, not that he had much time to think on it, as Point Break turned even sombre, “and then there are... powers that come from within...”</p><p>He shifted in his seat, the chair giving out a heavy groan.</p><p>Not that he was the only one. Rogers sat straighter. Fury’s eye got all the more twitchy and focused on the god.</p><p>“It is common thought that personal magics can only be used to power abilities developed through mental studies and are thus limited to mental abilities: astral projection, hypnotism... trickery. The continual use of such energies slowly exhausts the individual, sometimes even sometimes fatally, consuming their life force… Magic users have to train to harness their internal force. They also learn to harness external forces through meditation techniques and willpower. All this is to strengthen their minds and willpower, as well as their physical capabilities to varying degrees.</p><p>“And then there was the seiðr...”</p><p>
  <em>About bloody time.</em>
</p><p>There was a shift around the table. Several straightened in their chairs — or in Fury and his shadow’s case, stiffened where they stood. Even the snake seemed transfixed, eyes never wavering from the god.</p><p>“Seiðmenn and seiðkonur could come from any of the Nine Realms. They were said to have been deemed the worthiest by Yggdrasill, for their abilities went beyond projections and mind tricks. They had their own magic.”</p><p>“Their <em>own</em> magic?” Rogers asked, frowning.</p><p>“<em>Aye</em>. They <em>produced</em> their own magic... magic that came from <em>within</em> them. This meant that while they also called on the powers surrounding them, they weren’t dependent on them.”</p><p>“What kind of powers are we talking about here?”</p><p>It took several — <em>achingly</em> <em>loonnggg</em> — moments as Thor struggled to form an answer, “Some were said to be able to control the realms’ powers; others that their magic rivalled these powers — or even the powers of otherworldly entities, or even the Celestials from the Age of Dawn.”</p><p>“So you lot killed them all.” Rogers accused, giving Thor his ‘<em>I’m very disappointed in you</em>’ look.</p><p> Still, not to be outdone, Tony couldn’t help but add lowly, “Obviously not <em>all</em> of them.”</p><p>“It was not without cause! They started killing first, even each other!” Thor thundered back, rising from his seat.</p><p>The snake hissed in irritation at the sudden agitation.</p><p>Easing back in the chair, Thor’s glower calmed some, though his jaw still twitched as he tried to regain his composure.</p><p>“T’was not without cause. Some were corrupted by their own power... said to have let the magic control them. The first realms to have any were Álfheimr and Svartálfaheimr; seiðmenn and seiðkonur born among the Ljósálfar and Svartálfar —”</p><p>“The Low-Joe-salve and Scar-salve?”</p><p>“The...” Thor searched for the word, for him to come with “— <em>elves</em>. They were the elven people: Ljósálfar were the... <em>Light</em> Elves, from Álfheimr, and Svartálfar the <em>Black</em> Elves, from Svartálfaheimr. The seiðmenn and seiðkonur borne of from the elves were few, but they were said to have created wonders beyond what any had witnessed previously. Not long after, the Æsir and the Vanir bore several... Jötunheimr, Niðavellir and Miðgarðr were more likely not developed enough, as a seiðr was never borne in these realms. Even Múspellsheimr had but one, who soon became ruler over the realm. But even his son and heir, Surtr, while powerful for a Fire Giant, has never possessed such heightened powers.</p><p>“T’was then that several, especially those of the elven people, became corrupted. T’is said they used too much Dark Energy that it had affected their minds. They started slaughtering realms by the hundreds, wanting to rule over the rest.</p><p>“They became so corrupted that they changed, even affecting those around them, and a third elven race formed: the Dökkálfar - the <em>Dark </em>Elves<a href="#_ftn11" id="_ftnref11" name="_ftnref11">[11]</a>. The worst was Malekith, a seiðr with such great power that he was able to create Kursed beings. He was set on bringing only destruction and darkness to the Nine Realms. — Worse, he was not alone in such perfidy and felling! Mine own brother’s death was brought on by a seiðr!”</p><p>Rogers’ continual frown deepened, “Loki?”</p><p>“<em>Nay</em>! Baldr! — One of my other brothers, Höðr, was tricked into killing Baldr; <em>trickery</em> from a seiðr.”</p><p>“Bolder?... —<em>Wait</em>, you mentioned him before; the kid’s mark-”</p><p> “<em>Aye</em>! But the bind rune that Young Harrý wears makes little sense! Given his stature, he is barely out of infancy. Yet, both Baldr and Ullr perished in battle before I was even born, a thousand years ago.”</p><p>“Ok, so? Can’t some other god have marked him with them?”</p><p>There was the briefest pause, a flicker of hesitation, “Such happenance is not impossible, but such specific marks, calling directly to the powers Yggdrasill bestowed to a distinct member of the Æsir — and the Ljósálfar in Ullr case...”</p><p>“Isn't it possible the magic tree just deemed Mr Slytherin worthy? Not just for the seidr thing but the marks?” Rogers asked, possibly sensing Thor getting side tracked again.</p><p>Thor gave a grunt of annoyance, “Even if Yggdrasill just deemed Young Harrý worthy, how is it possible for a seiðr-child to have lived this long without any taking notice of him? — Such an occurrence would not have gone past the Alföðr’s knowledge, nor Heimdallr’s gaze!”</p><p>Tony’s own thoughts weren’t all that different. If the kid had been born on Earth, people - <em>cough</em> - SHIELD - <em>cough</em> - would have noticed. While JARVIS had confirmed there were indeed files in the SHIELD database linked to ‘<em>Krees</em> ’, ‘<em>Skrulls</em>’ and ‘<em>Flerkens</em>’, they contained no mention of ‘<em>seidr</em>’, ‘<em>habrok</em>’, or any similar term.</p><p>— <em>Hell</em>, his trusty AI would have <em>definitely</em> picked up on odd surges of electromagnetic pulses, any time the kid would have thought to wave his magic-stick.</p><p>“Could the Haybrock —Fawkes have done all this?” Rogers inquired.</p><p>Thor turned thoughtful, “Hábrók are beings of legends. None of the Æsir have seen one since my grandsire. He was said to have conversed with one at the dawn of the First Battle of Svartalfheim, allowing for a great victory against Malekith and his council of corrupted elves.”</p><p>“Well, Super-space bird or not, someone clearly knew about him; enough to bring him up, teach him,” Tony interjected. “I’m guessing even seidrs need training in how to use their wands. Not to mention, where he got the hat and cloak. As great as the Habrok is, I find it hard to believe he'd be the one behind all of it.”</p><p>Frankly, Tony couldn't help but wonder about this ‘AllFather’ and the final jab Loki had said to Thor before his disappearing act, “Any chance All-Daddy-Dearest knew about a new seidr but just didn't tell you about it?”</p><p><em>Hell</em>, you could write several tomes and still be run out of paper on all the ‘<em>Great Howard Stark</em>’ had kept from Tony.</p><p>Golden-boy opened his mouth to object — for him to pause mid-motion and frown.</p><p><em>Yeah</em>, the idea definitely held merit.</p><p>Still, perhaps this wasn’t the best time to point at other people’s fathers and their possible failings and secrets...</p><p>“How likely is your brother to use the Glow Stick of Destiny on ‘Young Harry’?</p><p>Thor frowned, “If you had asked me a year ago, I would have denied Loki deliberately harming a challenging. For all his tricks and mind games he would never actively harm infants. This new Loki though...  He has become a shadow of his former self. One full of hate; anger for imagined slights...”</p><p>The rest was left unsaid.</p><p>To be fair, it wasn't like the kid wasn’t all that innocent when it came to Loki. He <em>had </em>frozen him, set a snake on him, and sent a number of other... spells(?) at the god.</p><p>Well, all they had to do now was find the Tesseract, and Loki and his merry-band of brain-controlled minions, before he possibly added the kid to the count…</p><p>Not forgetting the space army of course. </p><p><em>Wonderful</em>.</p><p> </p><p>-</p><p> </p><p>Harry’s eyes snapped open. The wake was just as sudden as the attack. His head was aching, the echoes of a woman’s cries ringing in his ears.</p><p>At least the rousing this time round wasn’t as brutal. Nor was the surface as hard, or littered with debris.</p><p>Still, mindful of his aching head, he was slow in raising himself from... a sofa.</p><p>A sofa?</p><p>Confused, Harry took stock of the room; a large, luxurious room complete with comfortable looking chairs, low tables, a modern fireplace, and huge, floor-to-ceiling windows, giving a grand view of a large city.</p><p>As for himself... </p><p>Harry had neither his wand nor his cloak.</p><p>Nor was Fawkes here.</p><p>Given what he remembered from the attack on the SHIELD flying ship and his confrontation with Loki, this wasn't all that surprising, really. Fawkes had gone off to help with something (a ‘<em>beast</em>’ according to Loki). As for Harry, he had thought it a good idea to confront a Norse god —or really, this universe’s version of a Norse god. </p><p>At least the Hat was still with him, still sitting on his head.</p><p>As if waiting for Harry to acknowledge his presence, it was then that it whispered to him, ‘<em>Relieved to find you awake Harry</em>.’</p><p>‘<em>What happened? —What-what did Loki do</em>?’ He remembered yelling and laughter… followed by a woman crying out — begging... for something...  </p><p>There was a pause, the Hat seeming to hesitate… before, ‘<em>While I do not recognise the technique, Loki used a form of mind-magic called Legilimency on you… To force certain of your memories to the surface of your mind, in hopes to gain knowledge on who you are.</em>’</p><p>Mind magic? Hidden memories? Something stirred in the pit of Harry’s stomach. Dread started to build within him, wary of what the Hat said next.</p><p>‘<em>The mind is complex and multifaceted, Harry. One cannot simply read another person’s mind. Surface thoughts are the most accessible, but also the most trivial. Loki was interested in more… personal memories. Memories linked to who you are as a person. Those which have marked us the most; attached to one’s soul. Unfortunately, these tend to be the most memorable not for the right reasons…</em>’ </p><p>Harry tried to understand what the Hat was explaining. He felt like there was something key he was missing, something...</p><p>‘<em>Harry… the woman crying out - that was Miss Evans</em>—or<em>, I should say, Mrs Potter. That was your mother, Tom Riddle confronting her before her death.</em>’</p><p>Harry’s brain seemed to have jammed. He wasn't sure if the Hat stopped talking, or if it was his own mind that had gone quiet, numbing everything around him.</p><p>Even his eyes seemed to have stopped working properly, looking out seeing nothing. </p><p>He had heard his mother’s voice for the first time. — And his father’s. The more he thought about the memory, the more it came back to him. It might have been hidden in the depths of his mind, but now it felt like it was the only thing he was able to think about. It replayed in his mind, over and over, Harry noticing a little more each time; how panicked and pleading his mother’s voice was — how his dad had tried to slow Voldemort down, to give them time to flee — how cold and high Voldemort’s laugh was, before he murdered them — how -how Voldemort had asked - several times - for Lily Potter to ‘<em>move aside</em>’ only for his mother to refuse—</p><p>Loud noises abruptly pulled him from his dark thoughts.</p><p>His ears seemed to be working once more; Harry hearing loud sounds of explosions coming from above.</p><p>His eyes as well. Harry looked up to the ceiling as if he would have been able to see through it… For his gaze to turn to the large windows, even as sounds of more blasts resonated through the space—</p><p>His heart gave a jolt as he noticed Loki, staff in hand on the long balcony.</p><p>At least the Norse god’s own attention wasn’t on Harry. Instead, he was looking, not down at the city, but up, most likely towards where the explosions had come from. Not that he appeared all that concerned, given the Malfoy-worthy smirk he was wearing.</p><p>It was then that the Hat spoke once more. Thankfully, instead of speaking to Harry of his parents, or about the memory of Voldemort killing them, he focused on informing Harry on what had happened since Loki’s ‘<em>mind attack</em>’:</p><p>Loki, covering both Harry and himself with Harry’s cloak and also retrieving Harry’s wand, had left the large vessel - with his mind controlled team - to fly to this tower, located in this world's version of New York City (the name evidently having not changed between the two dimensions).</p><p>The Hat did take care to mention that when they had landed, he had felt the Tesseract’s energy closeby. —In fact he could still feel it, now even stronger than before.</p><p>Dread building, Harry was about to ask if he thought the sounds from overhead where the Tesseract — his brain jammed once more: a —<em>robot</em>(?) had just appeared.</p><p><em>Yes</em>, a robot - in Gryffindor red and gold - flew down, to land on one of the platforms outside. It proceeded to walk the length of the walkway, as metallic rings rose and started spinning around it. The next moment the visor lifted, and revealed... — Mister Stark’s face.</p><p>‘<em>At least it seems we now have an explanation as to Mister Stark’s comment of an ‘Iron Man</em>’.’</p><p>Harry only gave a small hum of agreement, so focused on watching Mister Stark stare warily down at Loki, all while the wheels continued to spin around, completely removing the iron robot suit from his person, while both moved slowly to the room’s entrances.</p><p>Loki was the first inside. And the first to notice Harry, standing by the sofa. He smiled with all his teeth, “Ah, the young seiðr has awoken.”</p><p>Taking the last steps inside and down the length of the other entrance, Mister Stark wore a more wary gaze, “You alright there kid?”</p><p>Harry nodded, trying to smile, only for his eyes to go once more between the two men —<em>well</em>, man and god.</p><p>“Worry not for the seiðr. They are far more durable than you mortals,” Loki retorted. “Though this one has still much to learn…” the statement ending with the god giving Harry a particular look of disappointment.</p><p>Mister Stark gave a scoff, “The way I saw it, he got the jump on you - <em>easily</em>. You nearly got your as— got yourself beat by a kid. And you’ve got what, a thousand years on him? Not very god-worthy if you ask me.”</p><p>Loki’s scowl quickly turned into a smirk and pointed stare of his own, “If you are placing your hopes on a child, you are far more desperate than I thought.”</p><p>“Uh...actually, I'm planning to threaten you.”</p><p>Loki looked even more pleased by this, “You should have left your armour on for that.”</p><p>“Yeah, it's seen a bit of mileage. You've got the glowstick of destiny. Would you like a drink?” For Mister Stark to turn to Harry, “Sorry Kal-El, don't have anything for under 21 here — <em>although</em>, that's for humans…” His eyes narrowed, “How old are you exactly? You’re not, like, already past thirty… or over several hundred years old, like Reindeer Games here?”</p><p>— “Stalling won't change anything,” snapped Loki, pacing restlessly, probably not having liked not having the attention on him… or being called ‘Reindeer Games’.</p><p>Mister Stark raised an eyebrow, “No, no, no! <em>Threatening</em>. No drink? You sure? I'm having one. - Sorry kid, better be safe than sorry. Pepper would kill me if gave a minor, even one from outer—”</p><p>“—<em>The Chitauri </em>are coming, <em>nothing </em>will change that. What have I to fear?”</p><p>There was the briefest pause, for Mister Stark to look up from the drink he was preparing himself, “The Avengers.”</p><p><em>The Who</em>? </p><p>Loki looked as confused as Harry. </p><p>Waving his glass about, Mister Stark expanded, “It's what we call ourselves, sort of like a team. ‘<em>Earth’s Mightiest Heroes</em>’ type of thing.”</p><p>“Yes, I've met them.” Loki answered, looking a lot less worried, now; amused if anything. He clearly didn't think much of ‘<em>Earth’s Mightiest Heroes</em>’.</p><p>“Yeah, takes us a while to get any traction, I'll give you that one,” conceded Mister Stark, as he moved back round the bar. “But, let's do a head count here. Your brother, the demi-God;-”</p><p>Harry was tempted to correct Mister Stark, pointing out that Thor was a ‘full’ god, not only a <em>half </em>god; </p><p>“-a super soldier, a living legend who kind of lives up to the legend;-”</p><p>He did wonder who the ‘super soldier’ was though; Captain Steve?</p><p>“-a man with breath-taking anger management issues;-” </p><p>Given what the Hat had told Harry about Doctor Banner, this was most probably him;</p><p>“-a couple of master assassins,-”</p><p>Agent Romanov?... Director Fury?... Agent Coulson?</p><p>“-the magical space duo bird and boy-” giving a nod to Harry “—and you, big fella, you've managed to piss off every single one of them.”</p><p>“That was the plan,” grinned Loki with all his teeth.</p><p>It didn't sound like a great plan.</p><p>“Not a great plan,” Mister Stark echoed Harry’s thoughts out loud, moving to the bar, possibly to refill his drink. “When they come — and they <em>will,</em> they'll come for you.”</p><p>“I have an army.”</p><p>“We have a <em>hulk</em>.” Mister Stark quickly retorted, as he came back from behind the bar, no longer holding his drink.</p><p>“I thought the beast had been flown away.” Loki countered, looking all the more sure of himself.</p><p>Mister Stark huffed, “You're missing the point. There is no throne — there is no version of this, where you come out on top. <em>Maybe </em>your army comes, and <em>maybe </em>it's too much for us, but it's all on you. Because if we can't protect the Earth, you can be damned well sure we'll avenge it.”</p><p>Loki prowled slowly up to him; twirling the sceptre in his hand, “How will your friends have time for me—” for Loki to dissolve — </p><p>— and reappear right next to Harry, a shimmering cloth Harry recognised all too well falling to the floor, the staff pointing straight at him.<a href="#_ftn1" id="_ftnref1" name="_ftnref1">[12]</a></p><p>On instinct Harry took a step back, turning to properly face the oncoming threat —to realise his mistake: his chest was now all the more accessible for Loki to poke him “— <em>when they're so busy fighting </em>you<em>?</em>”</p><p>Harry was barely aware of the Hat saying something in his mind — or the distant yell of “<em>Jarvis</em>!” — for darkness to surround him.</p><p>He tried to look around, but he didn’t seem to be moving - to be even able to move... He felt like he was  hovering on nothing, nor could he see or feel anything under his feet... In fact, none of his senses seemed to be working… — </p><p>— And just as suddenly, he was flooded by visions - sounds - smells — so many he could barely keep track of any of them… </p><p>His mind <em>opened</em>.</p><p>He felt like he could see - hear - feel - <em>know...</em> <em>everything</em> - every blade of grass - every bee - every flower - every rock - every star - every galaxy... the whole universe was open in front of him in all its glory...</p><p>It was all so bright - so soft - so blue — so... <em>inviting</em>…</p><p>He just had to reach and— </p><p>‘<em>Why, though?</em>’ A voice echoed from some distant chamber of his mind.</p><p>The universe only seemed to pull him further in — if he would only— </p><p>‘<em>But why? Why would I want to know everything about this universe?</em>’</p><p>‘<em>Indeed, Harry; you don’t want to</em>,’ another voice had awoken in the back of his brain.</p><p>‘Come... <em>you will know more than you could possibly imagine...it is all within your reach</em>...’ The visions, sounds, smells pressed, becoming insistent.</p><p>Even the soft blue light seemed to glow brighter — </p><p><em>‘No, I don’t think I will, thanks</em>,’ the first voice —<em>his</em> voice, Harry certain, now that he recognised it, stated, a little more firmly, ‘<em>... no, I don’t really want to</em>...’</p><p><em>‘No you don’t’</em>, the second voice echoed. There was something familiar about it... — </p><p>Only for the intense feeling to double down on and around him. It was no longer soft and welcoming, but <em>harsh</em>, the light too bright, pressing down on him… ‘<em>Come - take</em>—” </p><p>“<em>NO!</em>”</p><p>The words burst out of Harry; they echoed through the room, and the dream state was lifted as suddenly as though cold water had been thrown over him — for the worse of headaches to rush in and take its place — back rushed the realization of where he was, and what he was facing...</p><p>Harry blinked several times. The light of the room so different from the soft glow of the visions, it took him several moments for his eyes to adjust and to focus... on Loki, sprawled on the floor and steps, his body twisted by the steps, hair in disarray, was on the other side of the room.</p><p>As for Mister Stark… — </p><p>His heart gave a jolt as Harry noticed all of the large windows were completely smashed, but before he could do more than look, Loki was back on his feet with only a groan of discomfort.</p><p>He glared at Harry, “You are becoming a <em>nuisance</em>,”  before raising the staff, the blue light whirling, a soft shrill sound started to ring — </p><p>For it to surround him; whirling sounds started to come even from behind Harry —a hot blast of something shot past him. It hit Loki straight in the chest, sending him flying into the stairs once more, the staff dropped out of his hand in the process.</p><p>Harry quickly swerved round to find Mister Stark back in his robot-suit, the palms of his hands glowing bright at the ready — </p><p>Before Harry could do more than gape, a great big deafening sound came from outside, making both Mister Stark and Harry look up. Harry only saw blue sky and the tall ceiling, but the  whirling noise only seemed to get louder and louder.</p><p>Mister Stark, on the other hand, had clearly seen something. He let out a series of words Mrs Wealsey would definitely not have approved of, to shoot up out of view.</p><p>Not that Harry had a chance to go see where he had gone as a groan coming from much closer, reminded Harry of a threat much closer: </p><p>With the distraction, the Norse god had been able to easily retrieve the staff and was once getting back on his feet.</p><p>His eyes fixed on Harry.</p><p>Harry took an automatic step back, the increase of sounds of explosions going on outside behind him somehow fading, as Loki smiled with his teeth,“Now… where were we? —<em>Ah </em>yes, a <em>nuisance</em>.”</p><p>Harry’s mouth had become very dry, finding himself unable to reply.</p><p>For not the first time, he couldn't help but be reminded of his confrontation with Voldemort last year — of his confrontation with Tom Riddle, not two days ago; Tom Riddle twirling Harry’s wand between his fingers as Harry stood defenseless.</p><p>This would actually be a great time for Fawkes to come save him once more…</p><p>“Now little seiðr, lets see how you fare against the powers of the Cosmos” — For Loki to send a blast from the staff straight to Harry — </p><p>Quick Quidditch reflexes, and having expected something, Harry dodged the spell — only to let out of cry, more of surprise than pain thankfully, as a second spell flew straight for him and clipped him on the shoulder. Landing on all fours, he looked to his arm to find the grumphorm robes still smoking, with a singed mark where Loki had hit.</p><p>His gaze snapped to god and staff, ready — </p><p>Music started to fill the space.</p><p>Loki whirled around to stare across the span of the room as the music grew louder. It was as eerie, spine-tingling, unearthly as it had been in the Chamber, lifting the hair on Harry’s scalp and making his heart feel as though it was swelling to twice its normal size... Then, the music reaching such a pitch that Harry felt it in his ribs, flames erupted in the middle of the room — </p><p>“<em>Fawkes</em>!” Harry cried out, so relieved to see the phoenix — “a-and Doctor Banner…” The doctor had indeed also appeared, still holding to Fawkes’ tail feathers.</p><p>Fawkes trilled in response.</p><p>Doctor Banner was about to also respond, when he noticed Loki.</p><p>He went rigid.</p><p>For a moment, it looked as though words had failed him. He seemed to be shaking with inexpressible anger — but the shaking didn’t stop. His limbs — his whole body was shaking.</p><p>Harry was barely aware of the Hat whispering ‘<em>Oh my</em>’ - the thought echoing very much his own - as he took several steps back. The doctor’s face started to grow in all directions, his eyes bulged. So was his body — next second, several buttons had just burst from his shirt and pinged off the walls. Harry was unable to look away as the doctor let out a terrible snarling sound — his shoulders hunching as they grew — for his shirt to completely rip from his body. His skin turning green — his hands were now green and as large as watermelons —</p><p>Harry remembered Mr Stark had said something about a ‘hulk’, but he had actually no idea what that was. Doctor Banner had transformed into a large green… troll?... giant? — He was taller than Hagrid by a couple of feet at least. Yet, he was not as tall as the giants they had studied in Defence. Definitely not smelly as the troll last year.</p><p>Fawkes flapped  his wings in agitation, as he backed away, hopping —</p><p>A blue beam blast flew straight past Harry to hit the green giant - hulk(?) - sending him back several feet. Harry automatically took several steps back himself, all while his head snapped to the source: Loki. Loki who was also standing several feet from where he had last been; several feet from Doctor Banner. He had the staff in hand, at the ready, pointing it at the doctor — to shoot a second blast at him.</p><p>Not that either blast seemed to affect Doctor Banner much. Not a moment passed between hitting one of the walls (leaving a large indent in his wake) and him leaping from it, to cross the room in barely three steps, to grab Loki — and throw him across the room, the god losing the staff in the process.</p><p>Loki’s body hit the top of the room's fireplace with a great big smack, a large crack appearing, before dropping to the ground. </p><p>The hulk let out a great big roar.</p><p>Harry could only stare in wonder as Loki himself was also quick to get back on his feet, ready as Doctor Banner moved towards him— </p><p>“ENOUGH! You are, all of you, <em>beneath me</em>! I AM <em>GOD</em>, YOU DULL CREATURE, AND I WILL NOT BE BULLIED BY—”</p><p>Whatever came next, they never knew as Doctor Banner grabbed Loki by the feet — to smash him into the floor <em>—repeatedly</em>. The scene reminded Harry of when they had been four and Dudley had repeatedly hit one of his action figures against the driveway concrete, complaining it wasn't the latest one; that Perkins had a better one. </p><p>Unlike the toy though, Doctor Banner thwacked Loki into the hard floor until he was encased in it. Only then did he let go, to turn away with a grunt, “Puny God.”</p><p>Harry was certain he heard a whimper come from inside the crater, but he dared not take his eyes from the green giant who was moving towards Fawkes, and thus also Harry.</p><p>“Umm… thank you... Doctor Banner.”</p><p>The giant growled, giving Harry a glare (thankfully only a glare) — “<em>Hulk</em>.”</p><p>Harry blinked. </p><p>“Banner puny; Hulk great,” the statement finishing with ‘Hulk’ pointing to himself.</p><p>“Oh right... <em>well, umm </em>— thank you Mister Hulk, sir.”</p><p>Fawkes trilled, fluttering next to Harry.</p><p>“Oh, and thank you Fawkes.” </p><p>Mr Hulk turned his attention to the bird and smiled with large teeth, “pretty bird.”</p><p>Fawkes shook his feathers once more, puffing, before straightening and hopping towards the fallen god. Harry wasn't sure if he should warn the phoenix, shifting in concern, as he approached Loki to — peck at him?</p><p>Even Mr Hulk looked at a loss as to Fawkes’ intent — </p><p>For Fawkes to pluck something with his beak and — “<em>My wand</em>!” </p><p>Faster than Harry could think, he was by the bird’s side as Fawkes presented his wand to him. He picked up the holly and phoenix wand and felt a sudden warmth in his fingers, as though wand and hand were rejoicing at their reunion.</p><p>The ground shook some and Mr Hulk was by their side a moment later, giving a grunt. Turning to him, he found the green giant looking in confusion at Harry’s wand. Only for him to look past both Harry and wand, his scowl returning as he looked down once more at Loki’s unmoving form. </p><p>Harry himself was unsure what they should do about the laid out, unconscious god.</p><p>‘<em>Perhaps now would be a good time to bind him before he comes back to it, especially now that I have a bit more time to teach you more advanced spellwork</em>…’</p><p>‘<em>But, won’t Loki be able to get himself out of the binds when he wakes?</em>’</p><p>‘<em>No. Part of the ‘charm’ of the binding spell is not only binding the person physically, but also magically. While it doesn’t fully cancel the bounded’s magic, it does greatly reduce his abilities. There is also the advantage of our novelty to this universe. It is highly unlikely that Loki has come across such a spell before, and thus won't know how to cancel it… Though perhaps it is best that we do relieve him of any possible weapons he may have</em>.’</p><p>Even as the Hat spoke the afterthought, Fawkes was already once more pecking at Loki’s robes, pulling out several knives. Even Mr Hulk, also watching Fawkes, looked not far behind in wanting to search the god for any potential weapons (— by possibly shaking Loki upside down and seeing what would fall…)</p><p>— “<em>LOOOKIIII!!!</em>”</p><p>All three, Mr Hulk, Fawkes and Harry swiftly turned at the warrior cry — For the green giant to give a loud growl (of warning? Harry wasn't sure) of his own, as a battle-ready Thor, complete with Mjölnir in hand, swooped through the broken windows and landed at the edge of the room.</p><p>Thankfully the Norse god halted upon taking in the scene, looking unsure how to take the three. Just as Mr Hulk was taking him, becoming agitated. </p><p>Thor hesitated all the more upon noticing Loki behind them, <em>in </em>the floor. His hammer didn't lower though. “What has been done to Loki?”</p><p>“Puny god.”</p><p>Thor blinked at the giant.</p><p>He looked ready to protest, so Harry quickly jumped in, “What Mr Hulk is saying in Loki tried to use the staff on me and it backfired... — though Mister Stark <em>was</em> <em>-umm,</em> <em>accidentally, </em>thrown out of the window… Anyway, Fawkes and Doc—<em>Mister Hulk </em>arrived just in time to stop Loki from doing any more... <em>damage</em>. — And Fawkes just got me back my wand.” He raised his hand, showing Thor his wand indeed back in his hand, even smiling at the sight.</p><p>“I was about to…<em>umm</em>, to bind Loki, that is for until someone came…” Harry explained looking at Thor expectantly, given that <em>he </em>had come.</p><p>There was a pause.</p><p>Thor stared at Harry to look at Mr Hulk, still glaring at him, to end with Fawkes, who gave a soft coo. His eyes returning to Harry, he gave a sharp nod, as if indicating for Harry to proceed...</p><p>The binding spell - <em>incarcerous </em>- wasn't too different from the disarming charm in its approach.</p><p>In practice though… It did take Harry more than a couple tries to get the movements right, much to Mr Hulk’s amusement. (Harry was sure that Thor’s mouth also twitched.) Finally though, the Hat - and Fawkes, ever encouraging - were satisfied enough for Harry to try and cast the spell. </p><p>He was just about to cast it on a still unconscious Loki (Mr Hulk and Thor watching to the side, at the ready, incase the fallen god dared to wake), when a huge groan - not from the green giant or Thor, but from outside - made them all turn to the (broken) windows. </p><p>In all the excitement, the explosions happening outside had been muted to the back of Harry’s mind. (To be fair, he <em>had </em>been dealing with the Norse god of Mischief.)</p><p>Looking out, there were…. metallic carts(?) flying about, shooting at everything and anything, but that was not what had caught all their attentions —</p><p>A large shadow came from above, for the belly of a great big flying beast - looking somewhere between a turtle and a slug - to dive past them, down the length of the tower… </p><p>Mr Hulk gave a growl of displeasure, his scowl echoed on Thor’s face.</p><p>Even Fawkes fluttered his wings in agitation as they watched the beast hover over the main road below, as a whole army seemed to jump off its back and sides. The cries and explosions around it seemed to increase several times over.</p><p>Clearly reading Harry’s thoughts, and knowing, for the second time, even after Harry’s encounter with Loki, that any objections would be ignored, the Hat only sighed heavily, <em>‘Perhaps complete your task of binding Loki, before going to prove Godric’s more hazardous traits are very much existent within you. At least you will have Fawkes and these two by your side this time. </em>—Ah<em>, and take Godric’s sword; it seems it is rather thirsty for battle, now that it has been reminded of its time with Godric. And who knows: hopefully a single sharp stab through the skull will be just as efficient with this beast as it was with Salazar’s basilisk.</em>’</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>= =</strong>
</p><p> </p><p><a href="#_ftnref1" id="_ftn1" name="_ftn1">[1]</a> What Thor actually says is ‘Gambanteinn’: Old Norse for  'magic wand'; <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gambanteinn">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gambanteinn</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mythological_objects#Pole_weapons">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mythological_objects#Pole_weapons</a></p><p><a href="#_ftnref2" id="_ftn2" name="_ftn2">[2]</a> Little side tid bit, for any who don’t know, Norse Mythology does have Loki once turn into a horse, to have sex with another horse; though don’t know if could be considered bestiality per se as Loki was a horse as well...</p><p><a href="#_ftnref3" id="_ftn3" name="_ftn3">[3]</a> Naðr is ‘Serpent’ in Old Norse</p><p><a href="#_ftnref4" id="_ftn4" name="_ftn4">[4]</a> Níðhöggr is a dragon/serpent who gnaws at a root of the world tree. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N%C3%AD%C3%B0h%C3%B6ggr">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N%C3%AD%C3%B0h%C3%B6ggr</a></p><p><a href="#_ftnref5" id="_ftn5" name="_ftn5">[5]</a> Niðafjöll is the site from which the dragon Níðhöggr comes. Going for a Parseltongue-equivalent rather than actual parseltongue, Thor links it to the closest thing he knows it to be. As for the half-man, half-reptile race, totally invented for this fic. I was inspired by Doctor Who, and the Silurians. While The MCU universe doesn’t mention a specific ‘humanoid-reptilian’ race - gonna say there is one. Though have not read any of the comics, if there is any mention of a reptilian-humanoid species, let me know and I will change it to that. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ni%C3%B0afj%C3%B6ll">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ni%C3%B0afj%C3%B6ll</a> <a href="https://tardis.fandom.com/wiki/Silurian">https://tardis.fandom.com/wiki/Silurian</a></p><p><a href="#_ftnref6" id="_ftn6" name="_ftn6">[6]</a> Körmt and Örmt, along with the two Kerlaugar are rivers which Thor wades through every day when he goes to judgment by Yggdrasill. As in my (basic) research I found no mention of where they were located I decided that Körmt and Örmt were on Asgard and the two Kerlaugar in Vanaheim; the two places/realms Thor would know the best. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C3%B6rmt_and_%C3%96rmt">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C3%B6rmt_and_%C3%96rmt</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerlaugar">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerlaugar</a></p><p><a href="#_ftnref7" id="_ftn7" name="_ftn7">[7]</a> Élivágar (Ice Waves); according to wiki, it comprises the 11 rivers that existed in Ginnungagap at the beginning of the world. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89liv%C3%A1gar">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89liv%C3%A1gar</a></p><p><a href="#_ftnref8" id="_ftn8" name="_ftn8">[8]</a> Mímameiðr is a tree whose branches stretch over every land, is unharmed by fire or metal, bears fruit that assists pregnant women, and upon whose highest bough roosts the cock Víðópnir. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%ADmamei%C3%B0r#Fj%C3%B6lsvinnsm%C3%A1l">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%ADmamei%C3%B0r#Fj%C3%B6lsvinnsm%C3%A1l</a></p><p><a href="#_ftnref9" id="_ftn9" name="_ftn9">[9]</a> Alföðr: AllFather. In my basic internet research, I read that Odin had been indeed tied/hung from the Yggdrasil for nine days, though the part about it being for him to become the AllFather is just for my story and isn’t based on anything. / I added it cos in the MCU, while Thor does become king of Asgard, he never receives the mantel or powers of the AllFather; this little bit would give us some explanation as to why.</p><p><a href="#_ftnref10" id="_ftn10" name="_ftn10">[10]</a> Some of Thor’s explanation of magic is a mix of me, text from the wiki MCU ‘Magic’ page, along with inspiration from the wonderful comments from rosaamarilla and RayneWolfe in the last chapter on ao3, for which I thank them so much for such fun/inspiring reads.</p><p><a href="#_ftnref11" id="_ftn11" name="_ftn11">[11]</a> I can’t find a clear explanation as to what is different between the Dökkálfar and Svartálfar other than their world of origin, so decided to make the dark elves the definition of the cursed/corrupted elves <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C3%B6kk%C3%A1lfar_and_Lj%C3%B3s%C3%A1lfar">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C3%B6kk%C3%A1lfar_and_Lj%C3%B3s%C3%A1lfar</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Svart%C3%A1lfar"> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Svart%C3%A1lfar</a> /</p><p><a href="#_ftnref1" id="_ftn1" name="_ftn1">[12]</a> In anticipation to any possible comments: given that now Loki ‘knows’ Harry is a ‘seidr’, he used more power/magic to strengthen his illusion (plus the real him is hidden under Harry’s cloak) which is why Harry didn’t realise it wasn't the real Loki/was an illusion.</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Sorry folks; had to cut it somewhere...</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Small Note: Given that Beltane is associated with fire, life and even re-birth (not to mention mirror-opposite to Samhain in the calendar year, i.e. - Halloween), don’t think it’s a stretch to think Riddle might have decided to (pull Ginny into the Chamber and) try and come back to life on the first of May.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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